Fool, This Night Your Soul Is Required of You*

So Pat Robertson says God gave a 70-some year old man a stroke because he sought to divide Israel. Robertson was sure to say he knew Sharon, he liked Sharon, but that didn't do him any good because the prophet Joel wrote "I will gather the old people and bring them down to a Jerusalem hospital, I will enter into judgment with them there, I will clot the blood of the old and cloud the vision of doctors, I will hemorrhage the brain on account of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land." Well, that's not exactly what's written, but Pat says that's the gist of it. Anyway, from this we see it's not up to Pat. If it were up to him he'd let Sharon live. But God clearly said He wants Sharon dead.

You know how scoffers say, "Well if God can do anything, couldn't He have quietly killed Hitler with a blood clot or something, couldn't we have avoided the Holocaust?" Well this answers that question for all those who doubt the power of God. See? God can and does kill people with blood clots. God is battling doctors right now to kill Sharon with a blood clot because God doesn't want the land divided. God didn't kill Hitler with a blood clot because God wanted homosexuals, old people, the physically disabled, the mentally disabled, gypsies, Jews, communists, the mentally ill, and Jehovah's Witnesses all dead. Oh and Poland, Denmark, Norway, Romania, France, Czechoslovakia, Austria, regions of North Africa, Greece, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Holland weren't doing a good job of governing themselves. Does that sound stupid? I hope so- because it is. It is very, very stupid.

So there we have it. Once again, Pat Robertson said something inanely stupid. That shouldn't be a surprise. First of all, everybody else does too. We all have our moments; we all say stupid, misinformed, mean-spirited, foolish things. Some more than others, because some are more stupid, misinformed, mean-spirited, and foolish than others. That's not an excuse for anyone, it's just what happens. Oh but when I do it, I'm being ironic.

Anyway Pat Robertson has already shown his cards. We know he says wacky and mean things. I don't know why he does this. I can speculate- I do speculate, but that's all. In any case I think it would be nice if there was as clear a Christian voice saying something better- or at least something not so stupid. But then maybe that wouldn't help- or maybe that can't even be. I mean a better response couldn't offer a concise answer or the resolution people want. It doesn't offer finality. Unless it's real to you, a cross as response to evil doesn't make much sense and rather than ending or answering things, it seems to move things forward and rattle us free from the things we thought were answers- giving us just enough to move on.

I don't know. It could be that Ariel Sharon had a stroke immediately because he orchestrated the Gaza pullout even though the Bible doesn't say this. Then again it might not be the case. Pat seems to have decided to live as if the former were true and that seems to make quite a difference. So kill Hugo Chavez, don't call on God when bad things happen to you because you rejected Him via your state education standards, and God gave Ariel Sharon his stroke. That's coming from some place.

Interestingly, Pat Robertson hadn't been hosting his show for a while. Did you know that ? (Remember- I watch the 700 Club.) I guess he'd been on vacation, and in the now well established Evangelical tradition represented by Schuller, Osteen, and Roberts, Robertson gave the reigns to his son. Boring.

But Pat's back, and so is his erudite Biblical scholarship and cultural insight. And boy did he come out of the gate on fire. I think it's only been a week and already he's a lead story. How about that?

Coming From Party Shuffle
Wang Dang Doodlee- Howlin' Wolf
Where Is My Mind?- The Pixies
What The F*** Are We Saying- Lenny Kravitz
Big Spender-Fosse Ensemble
I Me Mine- The Beatles
Johhny Hit and Run Paulene- X
Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me- The Smiths
She Loves Me- Descendants
Please, Please, Please- James Brown
Sunshine of Your Love- Cream
Thriller- Michael Jackson
Ziggy Stardust-David Bowie

*What does this have to do with anything?