hristian Coalition founder Pat Robertson yesterday branded the U.S. Supreme Court a "tyranny of an oligarchy," and said that Christians should "think about revolt" over legal rulings on school prayer and abortion. Robertson raised eyebrows last November when he uttered similar inflammatory remarks which described the nation's highest legal court as a "dictatorship that's been imposed upon us," and encouraged followers to "throw off their shackles" and ignore court decisions they found to be contrary to their religion.

   Robertson's latest blast was made on yesterday's "700 Club" program during a segment he shared with attorney Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice. A news commentator had just discussed Monday's 6-3 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in SANTA FE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT v. DOE which struck down student-led prayer at high school athletic events. Robertson was quoted as saying, "We have now the tyranny of an oligarchy: six people deciding to strike down the clear desire of the people of Texas, the clear desire of the people of the United States, to have a religious observance to let their children pray..."

   Mr. Sekulow, who argued the case on behalf of the school district last March in front of the high court, suggested that the ruling "blisters with hostility toward religion," a sentiment voiced also by Chief Justice William H. Rhenquist.

   "The idea that a private student, a student speaker, can be censored because the words she's uttering is a prayer is repugnant to the constitution," argued Sekulow. "It converts prayer into pornography..."

   The ACLJ director then noted than Justices Rhenquist, Scalia and Thomas agreed with the pro-prayer position, adding that voting against student-led prayer "are two Roman Catholics, Reagan appointees O'Conner (sic) and Kennedy." (The transcript is from a posting on the Christian Broadcasting Network web site.) Robertson agreed, and soon added that Justice John Paul Stevens -- who authored the majority opinion in the SANTA FE case "is about as left wing as a Republican can possibly be."

   A minute later, following a brief discussion about the history of established religion, Robertson muses about the court's upcoming decision on so-called partial birth abortion.

   "If they come down and say that infanticide is a constitutional right, and that's the next case coming up, then I think it's time the people think about revolt. This is utter tyranny if they establish things like this."

   Sekulow discussed the upcoming CBN/"700 Club" programing for next week, and Robertson closed out the segment by declaring: "The Constitution gives Congress the power if they'll just take it. We're fighting, ladies and gentlemen, for your rights."

   Robertson's shoot-from-the-hip rhetorical style and growing penchant for intemperate remarks could jeopardize his ties with the presidential campaign of Texas Gov. George W. Bush. Robertson has been a faithful Bush loyalist, and in a campaign marked by charges of anti-Catholicism, mobilized his Christian Coalition to deliver the Texas governor an important win in February's South Carolina primary. Robertson has also managed to keep other religious-right leaders and groups in check despite calls for a "walkout" from the Republican Party.

   His renewed call, though, for a "revolt" could encourage more militant, even mentally unbalanced followers toward noncompliance and "resistance" with Supreme Court rulings on everything from school prayer to abortion rights. Robertson's talkative tongue has also jeopardized his own business dealings. Last June, for instance, he was close to finalizing a deal with the prestigious Bank of Scotland to form a "virtual" on-line bank. Some financial reports from Europe suggested that the arrangement was potentially "worth billions." Labor and civil rights groups in the U.K. protested the deal, but the partnership collapsed after Robertson appeared on his "700 Club" show and claimed that Scotland was a dark land overrun by powerful homosexuals..

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