In 1955, Pat Robertson entered Yale University Law School and went on to earn a Bachelor of Laws degree. Failing to pass his bar exam, his religious conversion took place shortly thereafter. He chose not to pursue law as a career path and instead attended the New York Theological Seminary. In 1959, he had earned a Master of Divinity degree. Other facts and trivia included in this article will concentrate on the religious achievements of Pat Robertson.
Robertson was very much affected by the Dutch missionary Cornelius Vanderbreggen, whose lifestyle and message was of great interest.
In 1961, Robertson was ordained as a minister of the Southern Baptist Convention.
After purchasing a small UHF station situated close to Portsmouth, Robertson established the Christian Broadcasting Network in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He would also later (in 1977) buy a local-access cable channel in the Hampton Roads region and named it CBN. In the beginning, he traveled from house to house in surrounding areas, asking Christians to buy cable boxes so that they could tune into his new channel. He targeted residents and local churches that dwelled in the Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads area. At local churches, he participated in speaking engagements, where he would ask for donations. He did the same on CBN. Today, CBN can be viewed in 180 countries and is broadcasted in 71 languages.
After Robertson founded the CBN Cable Network, he renamed it the CBN Family Channel in 1988, which was later shortened to the Family Channel. However, the Family Channel quickly grew in profits and it was hard for Robertson to allow it to remain associated with CBN ventures without threatening the nonprofit status of CBN. His solution was to form the International Family Entertainment, Inc in 1990. The Family Channel was recognized as its main subsidiary. In 1997, Robertson sold the Family Channel to the News Corporation, which was renamed Fox Family. One condition that allowed the deal to pass was that the station had to air The 700 Club two times per day , no matter who would own the station in the future. Currently, Disney owns the channel and it is called “ABC Family.”
On December 3, 2007, Robertson stepped down from his position as chief executive of CBN and transferred the responsibility to his son. Gordon.
On CBN’s campus in Virginia Beach, Robertson founded CBN University, which took place in 1977. In 1989, it was renamed Regent University, where he serves as chancellor.
On the 700 Club, Pat Robertson stated on January 14th, 1991: “You say you’re supposed to be nice to the Episcopalians and the Presbyterians and the Methodists and this, that, and the other thing. Nonsense. I don’t have to be nice to the spirit of the Antichrist. I can love the people who hold false opinions but I don’t have to be nice to them.”