Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson has died

Marion Gordon “Pat” Robertson, who founded and led the Christian Broadcasting Network for more than 50 years, died Thursday, the network said. He was 93. Robertson also founded Regent University and the Christian Coalition. In 1988, he sought the Republican nomination for president but lost to former President George H.W. Bush.

How did he start in broadcasting? Robertson studied law at Yale in the 1950s but didn’t pass the bar exam. He became a businessman living comfortably with his pregnant wife and son. He wrote in his autobiography that he was saved in 1956. A few years later, the Robertsons moved to Virginia, bought a bankrupt television station, and began to gather donors. Robertson built the station into a multimillion-dollar enterprise within a few decades. The station expanded its influence to over 100 countries and various languages, and “Pat Robertson” became a household name. Controversially, he occasionally seemed to try to read God’s mind. Robertson once approved divorcing a spouse with Alzheimer’s disease, and on various occasions, he attributed natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and sickness to God’s direct punishment.

Dig Deeper: Read Amanda Jarvis’ report in The Sift on the death of Adelia “Dede” Robertson, Pat’s wife.