Showing posts with label Alan Robertson. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Why the 'Duck Dynasty' Family Keeps Speaking Out in Face of Vicious Attacks - BOB ESCHLIMAN CHARISMA NEWS

Alan Robertson

Why the 'Duck Dynasty' Family Keeps Speaking Out in Face of Vicious Attacks

9/12/2016 BOB ESCHLIMAN CHARISMA NEWS

Alan Robertson, the eldest son of Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson, spoke once again at the Family Research Council's Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C., on Saturday.

During that speech, "the beardless brother" explained why his family continues to be vocal about their Christian faith and how it informs their decisions, particularly in light of the response it elicits from those who oppose a Christian worldview.

"I don't know that, in my lifetime, I've ever seen more of an attack on traditional values traditional family and, really, religious liberty—that's where we're living today," he said. "Every time that I come in and speak for anything associated with FRC, or with Tony, I get the most vile, vicious, mean notes on my social platform that you can ever imagine.

"Because I'm a person obviously in the public eye part of our family, and so we're not supposed to talk about what we talked about—who we are, in essence. I guess, you know, it's OK for other people, but not so much for us. So we're blasted."

Tony Perkins is "a really convincing guy," he quipped, saying in response to questions about why he continues to endure the attacks. The FRC president keeps convincing him to come back, he said, but added there are really three reasons why he continues to "do what I do."

"One is that I don't run from a fight," he said. "Especially when I'm right—and we are right about what we're talking about and so we don't need to run from them. You know, as dad said last night, ultimately our conscience and who we are, those of us who are believers know that God has put us in this position on this Earth to be a mouthpiece for Him. ...

"In America, we have over 300 years of history on our side and success because this country was founded on the things we believe in and we should be able to talk about that consistently and not be maligned, but we are. But you know what? That's OK, because God also told us that we would be persecuted for living that godly life and speaking what we speak.

"If Jesus Christ—if it was good enough for Him to be persecuted, then it's good enough for me. I'm not going to back away from the fight.

"I also want to join and support those who are willing to fight this cultural war for our soul—and that's what it is, a fight for the soul of America—because we know that we're citizens of this great country and very proud of that. We're also citizens of another country—of someplace that's higher, someplace that we want all men and women to ascend to—and really that's the third reason why.

"Because I love the folks, even the ones who malign, and talk bad, and hate, and say the things that they say. Whether they hate me, I love them anyway, and I want them to know about eternal life. I want them to know there's something beyond. I want them to know there's something better than your family right here in the here-and-now—a life that's unimaginable when turned to Christ and turned to God."

Robertson also discussed why he's voting for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. He also addressed the concerns of evangelicals who still haven't been convinced to do the same.

"So we're at this point, again. You know it hasn't taken us too long to get here—where things are in pretty bad shape—in fact, it's at such a crossroads that I believe, as many have said on this stage during the week, that we're at a toppling point. It's so dangerous and it's so scary.

"Some of the decisions that we see that come down through the judiciary now, and through the Supreme Court, of course what's happening and mostly not happening through the legislative branch—in 2016, we're at a crucial moment and I believe we're at a clear choice, as well.

"Now, you know we've got same ol' same ol' coming in on the Democratic side. I mean, it's just so—in fact, the only thing that adds to it now is we got a person who we know how self-serving she is. And not only wanting to take forward what's been happening for the last eight years, but also then to serve her own interests.

"It's a clear choice, because you look on the other side and you see a man who we're not sure about, you know, because he's never been a politician—which could exactly be the answer we need, that God has raised up this person for this moment in time—but here's what I appreciate about Donald Trump ...

"He's evolving in the right direction. You know, he talks openly about where he was, and certainly the news media's gonna put out there every possible thing they can find about where he was, but he's telling you about where he's coming to.

"So, again, I'm not saying he's the next Ronald Reagan, but I'm saying he has a lot of the qualities of a person that evolved from one place to another place, because they see how bad America has gotten ...

"I'm clearly going to vote for Donald Trump in two months there's no doubt about it. I'm gonna be that guy. And to my fellow Christians, evangelicals, and those who said, 'I just, you know, I made my decision in the primary'—because I mean I supported someone else, I mean a lot of us did but—when it comes down to it, if I were a #NeverTrump, I would hope that person would have been a #NeverHillary far before they were ever a #NeverTrump.

"You've drawn that line in the sand and you said, 'Well, you know, I just don't know if my conscience will allow me to step over it.' Well, I hope you drew another line that was #NeverHillary before that. So, listen, let's wipe that off and let's go back and let's remember and look at what's going to happen if we don't do the right thing.

"I love what Dr. Dobson said last night: We can't quit now. We can't just say, 'Well, you know what? Maybe if we lose this election, then we can start looking for four years down the road.' We're running out four-year terms for our great country.

"The judicial is waiting. The legislative is waiting. It's up to us to do the right thing. It's so crucial at this moment at this time. I want to encourage all of you to trust in God's ability to raise up who He raises up. That doesn't always be the person in our mind that we think it should be. God has done amazing things throughout human history by raising up people that no one can imagine to make a difference."

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Saturday, May 24, 2014

Alan Robertson of 'Duck Dynasty': My Father Phil Is a '21st Century Prophet'

BY JESSICA MARTINEZ, CP REPORTER

May 23, 2014

(PHOTO: THE CHRISTIAN POST/SONNY HONG)

Alan Robertson speaks at the Family Research Council's "Watchmen on the Wall 2014" event in Washington, D.C. May 22, 2014.

WASHINGTON – Phil Robertson of the A&E reality TV show "Duck Dynasty" is oftentimes compared to John the Baptist for speaking about the Gospel unapologetically, said his son, Alan Robertson.

Alan, a guest speaker at the Family Research Council's "Watchmen on the Wall 2014" event on Thursday, addressed a crowd of hundreds of pastors to encourage them to continue preaching the Gospel without compromise – much like his family is known to do on their show.

Friday, January 3, 2014

Exclusive: Alan Robertson Speaks Out on 'Duck Dynasty' Controversies - The Christian Post

Willie Robertson, Jase Robertson, Alan Robertson,

Phil Robertson, Si Robertson, Jep Robertson,

Justin Martin and John Godwin.

(Photo courtesy of A&E)

"Dad is a good, solid Bible man, and so are the rest of us. His views of sharing that haven't changed and ours haven't either. The biblical message is not always a popular message. There have been many people throughout history who've stood up for God and said what God needed them to say, and it didn't always mean they were popular because of it." Alan Robertson

BY MELISSA BARNHART , CP REPORTER

January 3, 2014

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Taking hits from a series of controversies since mid-December, Alan Robertson says the "Duck Dynasty" family isn't going to back down from defending their biblical principles and, if anything, they plan to be even more bold than before.

With the barrage of media sound bites day after day, Robertson told The Cristian Post late Thursday that, in this day and age, it's the way things go. "You get into the news cycles," he explained, "it's just the nature of the way things go once there's blood in the water, so to speak."

Last month, after A&E announced that Phil, the senior duck commander, was suspended indefinitely due to pressure from LGBT activist groups, such as GLAAD, for comments he made about homosexuality and sin, the family stood together and announced that they were unwilling to continue the mega hit reality TV show without the family's patriarch. Nine days later, the cable network announced that Phil was back on, with season five set to air on Jan. 15, and taping for the sixth season to get underway.

"We basically stood with dad, and I think he has the right to express his biblical views, as well as his opinions," Robertson told CP. "Obviously now, I think A&E is on board with that as well. They reinstated him, which is a good thing. I say now we just try to make a great television show and move forward. We're going to continue to talk about the Bible and try to help people, like we always have. That really never was in danger of not happening, and all this does is make us more bold to talk to people."

He continued: "Dad is a good, solid Bible man, and so are the rest of us. His views of sharing that haven't changed and ours haven't either. The biblical message is not always a popular message. There have been many people throughout history who've stood up for God and said what God needed them to say, and it didn't always mean they were popular because of it."

According to Roberson, when Christians experience difficulties or even face persecution, it doesn't change their mission, it just makes them realize that it's what Christianity is all about.

"It's not Pollyanna with us," he said. "We realize that, to be Christians, and to do what God has called us to do, it means you're going to rub up against people. And sometimes that's great when people see that and accept the Lord. Or, when they don't, it's not always so pleasant. So, there's no promise that standing up for Christ is going to be an easy experience."

In terms of sticking up for Phil, Robertson said that supporting each other is what his family has always done.

"But I'll tell you this, if someone in our family is wrong, we're going to tell them that too. It really comes down to one question: are we doing what's right, biblically?" he asked.

"With dad sticking up for the scriptures and saying the right thing, we're going to be the first people there. If he gets off track, we're going to be the first ones to tell him he's off track."

Two days after the initial controversy about Phil's comments on homosexuality and other sins was in full swing, CNN, the NAACP and even Jesse Jackson hurled accusations of racism against the Louisiana duck man for expressing his belief that the government's Great Society initiatives to combat poverty actually hurt families, opposed to helping them.

And this week, a video clip of Phil sharing his "faith, family and ducks" talk, which also includes an anecdote about marital advice he shared with a young couple during the 2009 sportsmen's ministry event in Georgia, has become the most recent "scandal."

Here's an excerpt from the video:

"I said, son, I'm gonna' give you some river rat counseling here. Make sure that she can cook a meal. You need to eat some meals that she cooks and check that out.

Make sure she carries her Bible. That will save you a lot of trouble down the road. And if she picks your ducks, now that's a woman.

They've gotten to where they're getting hard to find. Mainly because these boys are waiting until they get about 20 years old before they marry 'em.

Look, if you wait until they get to be about 20 years old, the only picking that's going to take place is your pocket.

You've got to marry these girls when they're about 15 or 16 to pick your ducks. You've got to check with mom and dad about that, of course."

For avid "Duck Dynasty" fans, Phil's comments aren't exactly shocking, because he's made a similar statement on the show. During a previous segment featuring Willie's son, John Luke, Phil tells his grandson to "keep his dating relationship pure," and to never touch a girl below the neck, until he's married. Phil added that he doesn't ever want to find out that one of his grandchildren is living a sexually promiscuous lifestyle and has contracted an STD.

Alan Robertson's take on marrying young

For the Robertson men, the concept of getting married just before, during or after one goes to college doesn't matter, but they each chose to marry the woman they fell in love with early on, opposed to waiting for maturity to strike them later in life.

"Honestly, dad, as well as the rest of us, we really try early on in our kids' lives to teach them about the importance of finding the right person that you can grow spiritually with. So that may begin early, or it might not happen until you're older, but at the same time, most of us got married pretty young, in our teenage years," Robertson explained.

"We've always had a mindset that, as Christians, we want to find someone else who's not only going to be a complement to us, and help us spiritually, but we want to be able to help them," he continued. "We were all boys, obviously, so dad always taught us that our role was to be a spiritual leader, and to help our spouses and ultimately our children make it to heaven. So that's always been our approach in terms of picking a spouse."

(Photo: Courtesy of A&E and Howard Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster)

Alan Robertson, from A&E's most-watched reality TV show, "Duck Dynasty," poses in an Under Armour camouflage shirt.

Robertson, who married his wife, Lisa, when he was 19 and she was 18, noted that now, the majority of Americans wait until their late 20s, or even older, before they get married. But he prefers the idea of growing with someone, opposed to waiting for someone.

"One of the things that I think is positive, at least from my perspective, is that sometimes you grow up together. My theory is that you can grow with somebody as much as you can to wait and then supposedly grow up and then meet somebody. At least that's been our (Alan and his brothers') experience."

He continued: "We all went to college while we were married and worked through our difficulties. I guess that's just open for debate. Biblically, there's nothing about that, it's just a preference. A lot of times people, I think, go and say, 'Well, I'm going to go and learn a lot of stuff, and learn how to be a mature person and then get married,' but it hardly ever works that way."

Love, marriage and a new book on the way

Using Miss Kay and Phil's marriage as an example, Robertson reiterated that his parents went through struggles of their own, especially during the first 10 years of marriage.

"Ultimately, dad became a Christian and matured, and I think mom was always very forgiving and loving, so that always helps a lot too."

Robertson also told CP that he and Lisa have gone through troubling times in their marriage, but with their commitment to each other and help from counselors, they overcame their struggles and are all the better for it.

"Of course, we've really worked hard to try to make sure that we stay married for our entire lives. Biblically that's what we try to adhere to: one man one woman for life. So, that's always been our goal," he added. "We've worked with a lot of people who've had divorce and a lot of difficult times, and we know it can't be perfect, and that's why we need Christ."

"When Lisa and I got married, we pretty much knew that we wanted to try to build a long life together. We just celebrated 29 years. It hasn't been easy. In fact, we're going to write a book about our marriage, as an encouragement to other marriages. It will probably be released later this year or early in 2015.

He continued: "That's going to be the theme of it, because we feel that a very important calling of ours is to help marriages – especially to help marriages through Christ in difficult situations; because you know, we were there, half-way through our marriage we had a real tough time and overcame it and stayed together. We learned a lot of stuff through that process and through counselors and other people who do a lot of hard work out there every day to help marriages become strong."

"Being married isn't easy. It's a difficult thing, and it takes hard work, and it takes patience and it takes forgiveness."

How old were the Robertson brothers when they married their wives?

Alan and Lisa (1984): "I was 19, and Lisa was 18. So we were young, and we had been together probably since we were about 16 and 17, so kind-of like everybody else in the family, we started dating when we were teenagers."

Jase and Missy (1990): "I think Jase had just turned 20 and Missy was 19."

Willie and Korie (1992): "I think Willie was 19, and Korie was 18. She had just finished her first semester in college when they got married."

Jep and Jessica (2001): "They were older, oddly enough, he's the youngest brother, but they were a little bit older, maybe 21 or 22. Still very young."

Bible verses that reflect attributes of a healthy marriage

The Bible verses that Robertson recommended to CP regarding marriage are Philippians 2:3-5, and 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.

"I always think Philippians 2:3-5 is one of the best marriage verses in the Bible, even though it's not really about marriage, it's about our attitude," Robertson noted. "It's the one that says, if your attitude is like Christ, where you're totally looking out for the other person or some other person's interest, then you'll always be the person you need to be."

He continued: "When I do weddings that's the verse I always use. After that couple does their vows, I say, 'Look, I know what you're thinking now, when you're standing here in front of me it sounds easy, but trust me, when you live your life out there that vow becomes difficult to hold. The only way I know you'll do it is, if you (the husband), are looking out for your wife's best interest, and if you (the wife), are looking out for your husband's best interest.' Jesus said that's what he does. He's always looking out for our best interest."

"Of course, I like 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, as well, the great love passage. Again, ironically, it's written to the Church, and how we should treat one another, but if marriages could hold up to that – keep no record of wrongs, always being faithful, always being trustful, and all those things – then marriages would be a lot stronger, I think."

Exclusive: Alan Robertson Speaks Out on 'Duck Dynasty' Controversies

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