Apology accepted?

It looks like Pat Robertson, the increasingly controversial faith-media guru, apologized to Israel for saying its stroke-stricken prime minister, Ariel Sharon, was being punished by God.

In a hand-written letter that Robertson sent to Sharon's son, Robertson wrote "my concern for the future safety of your nation led me to make remarks which I can now view in retrospect as inappropriate and insensitive in light of a national grief experienced because of your father's illness."

Might it be too little, too late? The Associated Press, which broke the story, says it's "doubtful" that Robertson will be a key player in the Christian Heritage Center, a planned evangelical outpost in Galilee. I kinda get the sense that evangelicals, too, would like to see an apology from "The 700 Club" anchor. Few Christian leaders lept up to defend Robertson following his latest pronouncement, and some condemned the remarks.

The Rev. Ted Haggard, one of our local evangelical leaders, didn't "apologize" for Robertson, as he did when Robertson said Venezualian dictator Hugo Chavez should be assassinated. But he did say that the "wrath of God" had nothing to do with Sharon's stroke.

"He's 77 years old, he's grossly overweight and he's been under pressure his entire life," Haggard said.

Evangelicals rarely criticize each other publicly. They're keen to present a united front. But I kinda wonder how much oomph Robertson really has anymore within the evangelical movement these days.