Pat Robertson Agrees With Santorum, Warns of 'Atheistic Dictatorship'
Christian Broadcast Network's (CBN) "700 Club" host Pat Robertson has come out in defense of the GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum, who has been criticized for remarks he made about Satan's influence on the U.S.
The comments in question were made in 2008, when Santorum, in his talk with a religious group of students at Ave Maria University in Florida, warned against the "spiritual war" Christians must fight.
"This is not a political war at all," Santorum told the youths. "This is a spiritual war. And the father of lies has his sights on what you would think the father of lies, Satan, would have his sights on -- a good decent, powerful, influential country: the United States of America."
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Some prominent politicians, like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is a Mitt Romney supporter, have come out to question such beliefs, and even hinted Santorum may not be fit for office because of his statements.
"I don't think [Santorum's] right about that. I think it is relevant what he says. I think people want to make an evaluation, a complete evaluation of anyone who asks to sit in the Oval Office," said the New Jersey governor.
Robertson, however, who has not shied away from sharing his belief in the power of Satan, even accusing popular book and movie series Twilight of being "evil" earlier this month, has insisted that Santorum has the full right to express his Christian faith on this subject.
"Think about the chorus of negative comments against Rick Santorum who dared bring faith into the arena. What has been brought in by every other president we've ever had, and certainly he quoted John Adams, but you can quote Thomas Jefferson or whoever and acknowledge that our freedoms come from God," the host said on his "700 Club" show in a clip uploaded on YouTube Wednesday.
"And we take God out of our society and we have lost our freedoms. That is what will happen in a secular society, and next thing you know we will have a secular, atheistic dictatorship. And that we don't want. That's the way it is shaping up, and we will see how it plays out," Robertson continued.
Robertson has also stood up for Mitt Romney, who has faced some criticism for his Mormon faith, which some evangelical Christians argue is not compliant with mainstream Christianity.
In an interview marking 50 years of CBN, Robertson said he liked Mitt Romney's politics and saw the Mormon presidential candidate as an "outstanding Christian."
