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Ask a Christian how he or she feels about televangelist Pat Robertson, and you will probably get a variety of reactions. A few might swear by the value of his television show, “The 700 Club,” and may watch it almost as religiously as they attend church services.

But for other Christians, Robertson’s name might evoke a nervous laugh or a smirk, the kind of response elicited upon seeing one’s embarrassing uncle pick his nose at the dinner table during Thanksgiving.

I don’t personally believe, like some on the left do, that Robertson is the epitome of evil. Through his charity work, he has probably improved the lives of many people. However, many of his public statements and actions prove that he lacks tact and sometimes decency.

This inability to employ tact has made him the unfortunate whipping boy of the mainstream media. Sometimes he is unfairly targeted, but more often than not, the criticism is deserved.

In a bizarrely out-of-character moment, Robertson rationalized China’s one-child policy – which can result in abortions – according to the Washington Post in April 2001. “I think that right now they’re doing what they have to do,” he said. “I don’t agree with the forced abortion, but I don’t think the United States needs to interfere with what they’re doing internally in this regard.”

And then there was the fiasco that occurred just days after Sept. 11. Ignoring the theme of “United We Stand,” Robertson agreed with fellow televangelist Jerry Falwell’s statement that abortion rights supporters, gay activists and other liberals were responsible for the terrorist attacks. During a time when mourning the victims should have taken precedent over arguing the culture wars, Robertson wasted an opportunity to display Christian compassion and instead exploited the tragedy in a petty manner.

Currently, many media outlets are chastising Robertson for launching a “prayer offensive” against the Supreme Court that is aimed to divinely persuade three liberal justices to retire due to health problems. But this non-event pales in comparison to Robertson’s most appalling scandal.

Amid the recent attention paid toward Liberia, The Washington Post reported that Robertson scolded the Bush administration for asking Liberia’s president, Charles Taylor, to resign.

“So we’re undermining a Christian, Baptist president to bring in Muslim rebels to take over the country,” Robertson said on a July 7 run of his television program. “And how dare the president of the United States say to the duly elected president of another country, ‘You’ve got to step down.’”

But there is more to the “Christian” Charles Taylor than meets the eye. Taylor has been indicted for war crimes by a U.N.-backed court. He has also been a prime supporter of an insurgency group in Sierra Leone that drafts children into its army. And, Amnesty International has accused his government of imprisoning, torturing and raping peaceful protesters, according to U.S. News & World Report’s Michael Barone.

So why would Robertson defend such a brutal leader? Perhaps it is because the televangelist and the tyrant have a financial history together. According to Barone, Robertson’s gold-mining company, Freedom Gold, signed an agreement with the Liberian government in 1999 to begin operations there. Although Freedom Gold’s vice president said the company was established to “alleviate the suffering of the Liberian people,” the Liberian government has a 10 percent interest in the company.

Robertson has shrouded his own financial interests by framing the Liberia issue as a Crusades-like conflict between Christianity and Islam. However, his interpretation is a “gross oversimplification,” according to what the director of public policy for the international Christian charity group World Vision recently told the Washington Post.

Furthermore, far from fighting Islamic extremists and terrorists, Taylor has appeared to be pretty cozy with them if the price is right. The Post reported in December that investigators from several European nations believe that Taylor harbored senior al Qaida operatives for at least two months after Sept. 11 in exchange for $1 million.

Thankfully, other Christians have criticized Robertson’s statements. Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s public policy arm, is correct in telling the Washington Post, “Pat Robertson is way out on his own, in a leaking life raft, on this one.”

But the searing smoke of public criticism and media scorn may have caused Robertson to already begin changing his tune. Two days after he criticized Bush for demanding Taylor’s departure, Robertson told the Post that he has “written off in my own mind” his investment with Taylor. He also called the Liberian president a “lightning rod” who should now step down, provided American peacekeepers stabilize the area.

Despite Robertson’s many flaws, Christians (and hopefully the media) should still forgive him if he repents and starts acting in accordance to the principles that he preaches on his show.

But in order for him to take up his cross, he will first need to drop the gold.

Czarnik is a student at Wayne State University.