In an interview that took place this fall with Sports Spectrum, a Christian sporting magazine, Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson said the producers of the A&E hit show tried to make him stop saying "in Jesus' name" during the prayers that take place at the end of every show.
“So they would just have me saying, ‘Thank you Lord for the food, thank you for loving us. Amen.’ So I said, ‘Why would you cut out ‘In Jesus’ name?’ They said, ‘Well those editors are probably doing that. They just think that they don’t want to offend some of the Muslims or something.’”
“I said, let’s see now…” Robertson continued, “I said, ‘what year is it?’” And the editor finally answered, “2012″ (the time the conversation took place, apparently).
Robertson then said, “2012 A.D. Anno Domini. The year of our Lord. I said, ‘you Hollywood cats are counting time from Jesus, just like I am. I would think that of all the people who walked the planet Earth, if we’ve all decided in America here to count time by just one of ‘em, Jesus of Galilee, I just don’t think it would hurt to throw his name in there from time to time.”
The producers backed off and are now leaving the name of Jesus in the show.
“So I notice now they are … leaving it in there, but you got to remember, spiritual warfare,” Robertson said. “I mean you have people with no moral compass, it ain’t there.”
Robertson is the first to admit that he didn't always have the moral compass either. A former first-string quarterback for Louisiana Tech University, he received a master's degree in education but ended up leasing a bar in Junction City, Ark., where he became involved in the "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll" lifestyle of the 1960s. He eventually left his wife, Kay, and their three children, but Kay refused to give up on him. She gave her life to Jesus and prayed for Phil's salvation. Her prayers were answered a year later when Phil hit rock bottom and decided to reach for the hand of Jesus to pull him up out of the muck of his life.
He now blames himself and the '60s generation for the social problems the United States is facing today.
"You can only run sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll so far," he said in an interview last spring with The Christian Post.
"The bottom line is what came out of that movement is what you're now witnessing. They had little innocent names; they called us 'hippies' and 'flower children.' That movement lured 60 million babies out of their mothers' wombs. What came out of that are universities that take our children and warp their minds – the ungodliness is literally rampant. All of the diseases that go with immorality, all of that stuff came out of my generation."
He claims that part of his mission today is to "try to make amends, and go forth and tell people about Jesus and what he's done for us on the cross. I've repented, and I'm trying to get my generation to do the same thing."
Duck Dynasty has been a mega-hit for A&E, drawing 11.8 million viewers for the Season 4 premiere.
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