Thursday, January 04, 2007

Robertson Does It Again

This is one of those rare, rare moments when I'm embarrassed to be a Christian, or, at least associated with other Christians.

Pat Robertson has come out with his latest "prediction." Apparently "God told him" that there would be mass killing in the US in late 2007 due to a terrorist attack.

This is one of the habits of Christians which drives me nuts. Where did it come from? Someone better versed in the development of American Christianity could answer that question, but I'm just baffled.

So many Christians seem to think that God talks to them, telling them various odds and ends. I've blogged about something similar in the past (there's more posts, but I'm too lazy to sift through my archives right now). Whether you're asking God to tell you what job to take, where to go to school, or who to marry, there's a lot of people out there who think that if you just listen to that little voice in the back of your head, the Holy Spirit will tell you what you need to know.

My problem? There's just no Biblical basis for this.

Let's focus on Robertson, specifically. He's not talking about the small stuff here, which is fine, because God usually did pretty important things when he communicated with mankind himself. But how did God speak to people? As far as scripture indicates, either through prophets, through dreams, or through audible communication. There's no basis in scripture for wiggle room, none of this, "Well, I think I heard God" silliness. If God spoke, you heard him. He doesn't fool around with that kind of stuff, and his words are as good as a promise.

That's the real kicker, too.
"I have a relatively good track record," he said. "Sometimes I miss."
Um, you might miss, but if God actually was telling you this stuff, it would happen. When you pull this kind of crap, you make us all look bad. Look, I can't say God isn't speaking to you. Maybe he is. But when you get it wrong? No, the only person speaking to Pat Robertson is Pat Robertson, and you embarrass your faith when you pull stunts like this.

Actually, God just told me something, Pat. He wants you to stop making this stuff up and putting words in his mouth.

2 comments:

Melissa said...

Oh my goodness!! How convenient, because God just told me to max out my credit cards on a shopping spree!

Christine said...

He just slings the name through the mud... =)