“You may be the only Bible some people ever read.” -contemporary Christian bumper sticker proverb
The Larry Kingus Emeritus of all Evangelical Christian media is in trouble again.
This week on the 700 Club Pat Robertson was answering viewer questions. One scenario concerned the spouse of an Alzheimer’s sufferer who had begun an affair on the grounds that their sick spouse’s illness really interferes with their spousing. I’m sure that’s true. This was Robertson’s counsel:
“I know it sounds cruel, but if he’s going to do something, he should divorce her and start all over again, but make sure she has custodial care and somebody looking after her,” Robertson said.
“If you respect that vow, you say ’til death do us part,’” Robertson said during the Tuesday broadcast. “This is a kind of death.”
Dude.
I think his logic was that a divorce is preferable to technical infidelity. But no. Life begins at conception, and it ends at… death.
One wonders how Robertson’s thoughts on Terri Shiavo compare with these statements. If an Alzheimer’s patient is already dead then wasn’t Schiavo? Of course not. Most of us wondered why Michael Schiavo wouldn’t just divorce Terri, go on with his life and leave her with her family. I guess that would be in line with Robertson’s comments…
Yeah, but… no.
Then there’s Robertson McQuilkin. His wife, Murie,l was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s over 10 years ago. Regarding their approach to her illness McQuilkin says, “But for us, we would trust the Lord to work a miracle in Muriel if he so desired, or work a miracle in me if he did not.” It’s a horrible situation, but for a Christian it’s a situation that’s about obedience, faith, commitment, honor, respect and most of all unending and unconditional love. That’s traditional marriage. That’s sharing a life. One life.
*To be clear, I understand how someone couldn’t stay, but Pat Robertson was speaking in the capacity of knowing what the right thing is according to Christian teachings.
- Excited
- Angry
- Not as Angry
- Bored
- Indifferent
- Sad
In sickness and in health . . . unless, you know, it’s totally inconvenient . . .
I’m dealing with family tradition on that. My maternal grandfather refused to put my grandmother in a nursing home, and spent 4 years and change caring for her after she had an aneurism, and was basically unaware of what was going on around her .
My old Daddy also refused to put my mother into an “extended care facility”, or a Hospice, for that matter.. Having seen the example set by my elders, as long as I can walk and carry stuff, I’m not going to do any different, should it come to that.
She’s the only wife I have, and she’ll live out her natural life in our home with me, assuming that I am capable of taking care of her. There are some things that one does not delegate to paid help if one is capable of doing it themselves. And that’s one of them.
I’ll deal with whatever I have to, but Pat Robertson has his head implanted in his sixth point of contact on this one. Sorry to differ with him, but if that’s his approach, he’s a sad and sorry excuse for a spouse.
Personally, when I said “…until death do us part…”, I meant exactly that. and the “For better or for worse” part, too. If I get that one handed to me, I’ll have to man up and deal with it.
FWIW, I may occasionally have transient thoughts about murder, but I don’t do divorce.
This story isn’t about nursing homes.