Posted on 11/10/2005 6:23:12 PM PST by lightman
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson warned residents of a rural Pennsylvania town Thursday that disaster may strike there because they "voted God out of your city" by ousting school board members who favored teaching intelligent design.
All eight Dover, Pa., school board members up for re-election were defeated Tuesday after trying to introduce "intelligent design" - the belief that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by a higher power - as an alternative to the theory of evolution.
"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God. You just rejected him from your city," Robertson said on the Christian Broadcasting Network's "700 Club."
Eight families had sued the district, claiming the policy violates the constitutional separation of church and state. The federal trial concluded days before Tuesday's election, but no ruling has been issued.
Later Thursday, Robertson issued a statement saying he was simply trying to point out that "our spiritual actions have consequences."
"God is tolerant and loving, but we can't keep sticking our finger in his eye forever," Robertson said. "If they have future problems in Dover, I recommend they call on Charles Darwin. Maybe he can help them."
Robertson made headlines this summer when he called on his daily show for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
In October 2003, he suggested that the State Department be blown up with a nuclear device. He has also said that feminism encourages women to "kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians."
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He does and they came from the Holy Spirit too. His teachings show the balance that God has in His personality. Love, Mercy, Kindness, Holiness, Righteousness and Judgement.
"Where does spiritual security end and spiritual pride and arrogance begin?"
Indeed, those who spout their sense of spiritual security have masked their own insecurities and fear with the supernatural blanket that supposedly protects them from evil and disasters.
That happens when people don't understand natural events due to the physical forces present in nature.
That's what I mean about eternity. It's what matters. This life is a blip.
It's not painful to hear of innocents' deaths when you know they go a better life.
And the evil...well, they may live till 90 here but so what? They suffer their due for a much, much, much longer period than that.
I believe it.
They played a long excerpt of what he said. It was pretty much sensible. He's not preaching ear tickling stuff like one hears from most comfy, carnal social club megachurch preachers these days. He may be a phony, but then again, he may not be. God knows.
Problem is, any time we see natural disasters of Biblical proportions hit certain areas, we want to immediately cite every possibility except the permissive will of God. If major immorality and idolatry rule the affected areas, we scratch our heads and dismiss any possibility of divine wrath. . like DUH!
In the past year, roughly half a million people on this earth have been wiped out in natural disasters. I saw large idols which people worshipped broken up and washed off their foundations and I wondered. I saw other awesome disasters and I wondered. I couldn't help but wonder.
I dunno, but if I had given my only son to die on a cross for blood to cover the sins of the world, I think I would be royally po'd if that world rejected him. Of course, I can't speak for God, but I can wonder. Christ was humble and never demanded anyone to get down on their knees and worship him. Now we have a chance to appropriate his blood and his spirit to overcome sin, and the day is coming when every knee will bow, willingly or unwillingly.
"And sometimes even "absolute truth" has no effect on science."
What "absolute truth" do you mean? If you mean ancient scriptures, then those can hardly be called truth and can be deconstructed with common sense and little logical thinking.
"Look at how many people have been ostracized in their time for a finding that went against the misguided science of their day."
Again, time corrected itself. Science won and feelings and dogmas were set aside. Science is truth. But scientists are just humans.
"And then later it was been found that they were right and the scientific community, of their time of course, were wrong."
Supernatural explanations have never been proven right. Ever.
My point of course is the absolute ridiculousness in pretending that people or a city or region are punished IN THIS LIFE by a deity for their misdeeds, which is what Pat Robertson, many WingNutDaily articles, and posters such as Quix and many others repeatedly suggest.
Any sort of punishment or reward in an afterlife is, as I said, a different (and unprovable of course) issue.
It's painful for the mothers of those innocents. Very painful.
I hope you don't ever say something like that to a grieving mother. It's small consolation at the time.
These judgements get people's attention who normally would go on with their lives with no thought for long-term consequences. Crises tend to make people think more seriously about things, so there is a redemptive purpose for them.
An average of 100,000 people a year are killed in earthquakes. Year to year this number will vary wildly, of course, but long term the average is pretty constant. The population of the earth has been rapidly increasing; if anything, the earth was unusually lucky disaster-wise the previous 20 years.
I saw large idols which people worshipped broken up and washed off their foundations and I wondered.
How much wondering did you do about this?
Saturday January 1, 9:01 AM
Car Nicobar's famous church flattened by tsunami
By Hindol Sengupta, Indo-Asian News Service
Port Blair, Jan 1 (IANS) The famous John Richardson church in Car Nicobar in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands has been completely destroyed by the giant tsunami that also killed thousands in the pristine archipelago.
"Nothing remains of the church," moaned pastor Silvanus, who has just been rescued by navy from Car Nicobar, part of the archipelago which has 572 islands, islets and rocks in the Bay of Bengal.
Officially named the St. Thomas Cathedral Church, it was established in the 1930s during British colonial rule and was one of the oldest and most distinguished churches in the region.
Oh, it's very painful. However, there are mothers who know that their children have actually gone to a BETTER life and they will see them again. These mothers have joy in their sorrow.
Like I said unfortunately, in the current world, there's no discernable evidence that happens. That's simple reality and people have to deal with it instead of pretending otherwise.
Robertson marginalized himself with his brain dead "It's America's judgment" after 9/11.
And, it appears, he's still at it, trying to call down God's judgment on a town because they don't agree with him.
Robertson's god is one he can pull out of his pocket and use as a weapon when it's convenient for him.
That ain't God, folks. He's not waiting around for people to sin so that He can zap 'em.
"To any atheists reading this article; do not judge christianity by people like Pat Robertson"
I prefer to judge by looking at Christ Himself.
I'm not sure what "christianity" is, but I know who Christ is.
Men will always fail to perfectly mirror Christ.
God doesn't give up on people like you do.
How do you explain all those churches that were destroyed by Katrina in Mississippi, while that den of sin, the French Quarter, pretty much escaped any damage at all?
The biggest mistake Christians make is appropriating human traits to God. If God acted like us, none of us would even be here.
THat's why I won't give Robertson the time of day. He really has the "end justify the means' mentality that those same board members had. From a WWJD line of thought, those board members, no matter how important this battle is, would God be pleased with them for committing sin to be successful to advance His cause? Or does it become the cause for a darker agent with that type of behavior?
Thank you for your powerful post. I needed what you stated, peace unto you and yours.
That's true. Maybe you have heard this: "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen"
This is where the soul comes in, the part of man that lives forever. It's the part that will be convinced of or reject eternal truths.
Pat Robertson nee Elmer Gantry strikes again!
I didn't see it that way. I saw it as a warning, not that the people didn't agree with Robertson, but that God might not agree with the people's choice.
I saw it as a warning from a Preacher to his flock. A Preacher is supposed to watch out for his flock. If he thinks there is danger ahead for his flock, then he tries to steer them away from it. That's the way I took it.
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