God, Mad
Robertson is the first one to claim that tragedies and disasters visited upon people are the result of God’s unhappiness or wrath with the victims. Ranging from Ariel Sharon’s stroke, to the threatening of a school district with God’s wrath, Robertson clearly believes that God behaves like Tony Soprano when angered.
Well, if Robertson’s theory of a personally vengeful God personally targeting the sinful for death and destruction is correct, he had better hide under the nearest rock, because he seems to be on God’s “To Do” list.
Pat Robertson’s Jet Crashes In Long Island Sound
A Learjet owned by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson crashed in Long Island Sound while flying in heavy fog Friday, killing the two pilots and injuring three passengers, the Coast Guard said. Robertson was not aboard.
The rescued passengers were able to get out of the plane on their own and were taken to the hospital for minor injuries, state police spokesman Sgt. J. Paul Vance said.
Just this girls opinion but to each his own and some peoples comments can only be taken with a grain of salt as they fly with their wings. God has punished the world before (the great flood ) but who’s to say everytime a disaster happens it’s to punish men . That brings about the question of why bad things happen to good people and how people like Jeffrey Dalhmer and John Wayne Gacey and Hitler for that matter can wreak havoc on so many , destroying countless lives before being stopped in their tracks and struck down by God. God’s ways are not our ways. Pat Robertson may hear God talking to him, only he knows for sure but to me he does seem to cast stones at times. We are all sinners with different sins and who of us are to judge who’s sin is the greatest or least offensive to God? It is not our place to judge or tell someone they are going to hell because of our beliefs or lack thereof. If organized religion works for you and makes you a better person then that’s great. If you dont follow a specific religion but have God in your heart and that makes you a better person then that’s great also. At least Pat’s intentions are good, he is hurting no one and not calling for the death of those who disagree with him. Who knows why disasters happen to who they do and if they are punishment or not. I believe the punishment or reward will be in the next life according to how we conducted ourselves in this earthly life. Just my opinion as I feel we are also doing a fine job punishing ourselves without the help of God.
My take is that it’s like building your house at the bottom of a volcano, and then praying to God to not let the volcano erupt. The volcano has to do what volcanoes do or completely mess up the geology of the area. God was the one telling you, “don’t build your house there”. But you figured you would build your house there anyway and force God to keep the volcano plugged up through prayer. Then, when the volcano acts normally, you blame God.
Milton wrote, “The mind is its own place, either making a heaven of hell, or a hell of heaven.”
I have always thought it blasphemous for a mere mortal to exclaim that he alone knows God; God’s Will or cast judgment on others. As far as wishing harm on others (which by the way is soooooo un-Christ like) Pat Robertson has exhibited this harmful, self-indulgent, arrogant, and hypocritical act upon numerous occasions, all in the name of a God he would not recognize if the second coming came tomorrow.
I’m with Tammy on this one. Robertson has been invokving God’s name in quite a few venues that I’m not sure He approves of. He’s done this time and time again and the media pick up on it and run with it. Then, Robertson is painted as typical of the “Christian Right,” when he’s considered to be more of a freak than a leader.
I don’t wish Robertson any harm. That goes against my Lutheran faith. But let’s be honest about the guy. He’s done a lot to hurt Christianity (Cardinal Bernard Law has dibs on the top spot) and to give him a “he’s not harming anyone” pass just doesn’t sit well with me.
It would be pleasing to think that everything that happens is part of God’s plan. That belief could give us the power to struggle through any setback or tragedy. I don’t want to argue with anyone who is comforted by this philosophy, but I can’t wrap my head around it. The closest I can come is the sense that God expects us to figure out the right thing as best we can and then do it, in spite of the obvious fact that the world has gone terribly wrong and evil often triumphs.
Tammy has mentioned the Pope raising the question of where was God when Auschwitz was operating. If you think about it, the question makes no sense. Murdering a single human being is in itself an infinite tragedy. Murdering millions is merely a million times infinity…which is really the same as a single infinity, isn’t it? If God would intervene to prevent the murder of 6 million, then wouldn’t He also prevent the murder of 5 million? Or 1 million? Or 10? Or 1? And if He would prevent the murder of 1, then shouldn’t he also save that 1 from, for example, being hit by a car and maimed? And if He saves us from getting hit by a car, how about keeping us from getting rained upon? Where do you draw the line? No, free will is a package deal. You take it all or you take none. Preventing Auschwitz was our job, not God’s.
If it was part of God’s plan, it looks like He missed. Aero News Network reported that Robertson seldom used the plane himself, and so it was usually rented out to charter operators (a fairly common practice among corporate jet owners). The people who died aboard the plane most likely had nothing to do with Robertson.