Mars Hill Pastor Mark Driscoll, Wife to Appear on '700 Club'
Christian Community Expresses Skepticism Over Driscoll's Appearance on Pat Robertson's Program
Mars Hill Pastor Mark Driscoll announced Monday that he and his wife's appearance on Pat Robertson's "The 700 Club" would be broadcast Tuesday for what appears to be a special Valentine's Day episode. Many of the dozens of responses to Driscoll's Facebook announcement expressed skepticism, claiming Robertson's program "perverts the Gospel."
Driscoll posted on his Facebook page Monday that he and his wife, Grace, "had fun" in the taping of their "700 Club" interview that will air Tuesday morning on ABC Family.
"Before we taped, they even prayed for us," Driscoll revealed in his post, which attracted dozens of comments from followers of his Facebook page.
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Although it was not immediately clear if there was a special occasion for the Driscoll's appearance on the Christian Broadcasting Network program, "The 700 Club" Facebook page revealed that viewers will see a special Valentine's Day episode Tuesday, Feb. 14. "The 700 Club" post requested that viewers offer relationship questions for Pat Robertson that could be read on air, presumably for the program's "Bring It On" segment.
In addition, Mark and Grace Driscoll released last month their co-authored relationship book, Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together. Real Marriage aims to offer a biblical take on "sex and marriage in down-to earth terms," according to the publisher.
Some of the comments on Driscoll's Facebook page Monday expressed curiosity as to why the Mars Hill pastor would appear on Robertson's Christian news program, with several visitors claiming "The 700 Club" promotes another Gospel.
"Mark? The 700 Club?? Really????? Man. Things are going downhill very fast!!" wrote Paul Munro, who accused the program of promoting a prosperity gospel.
One commenter, Chris Curry, admitted that he was no fan of "The 700 Club," but found it commendable that the Driscolls had no issues with "going into an environment where the gospel is perverted, and preaching the real one. Another pretty amazing person I know did that very same thing... hanging out with messed up people with messed up views... quite often actually. Anyone ever heard of Jesus?"
"My grandfather faithfully watches that show every day," wrote Cheryl Austin Roof. "It has some really good guests, but I find myself shaking my head at the outlandish comments made by the hosts in almost every episode I see."
"Kinda strange Mark would be on here considering what Pat Robertson said about ditching your wife if she has Alzheimer's," wrote Wayne Roberts, referring to controversial statements Robertson said on a Sept. 2011 airing of "The 700 Club" when responding to a question about a spouse dealing with Alzheimer's disease.
Robertson was criticized by much of the public, including the Christian community, for suggesting that having a spouse with Alzheimer's was justifiable grounds for divorce as the disease "is a kind of death" and that a man considering stepping out on his wife suffering from Alzheimer's "should divorce and start all over."
Although much of the reaction to Driscoll's announcement of his appearance on "The 700 Club" centered on a debate about the wisdom of the Seattle pastor making such an appearance, more than 200 people "liked" Driscoll's announcement, presumably expressing their approval or intention to tune in.
The interview with Mark and Grace Driscoll on "The 700 Club" airs Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. on ABC Family.
