I DON’T SHOOT FISH IN A BARREL, THAT’S WHY

A reader wonders why I haven’t commented on Pat Robertson’s veiled spiritual death threat to three Supreme Court justices. It’s real simple: Pat Robertson is a “minister of the Gospel” in the same sense that I am a “ballerina of the Bolshoi.” He is a political muckabout and wannabe kingmaker clothed–barely–under the guise of Christianity. And I don’t think he’s going to get an Oral Roberts-type deus ex machina ending, either. Just like he once predicted a hurricane would strike Orlando because of Disney’s pro-gay policies (it struck Virginia Beach, headquarters of CBN, instead), I am believing that his so-called “prayer offensive” (and I can’t even begin to tell you what’s wrong with that phrase) also will not work.

I am reminded of a cartoon I saw years ago. A preacher stood out in a field, hands raised to heaven, and said, “Lord, if it is your will that I continue in my ministry, send me a sign.” In the next panel, about a million “STOP” signs come crashing down on the preacher’s head. He struggles his way out from underneath them, lifts his hands again, and says, “Any sign will do, Lord . . .”

Literally for God’s sake, Pat Robertson should stop putting God to the test by announcing the expected results of prayer before the prayer has actually happened. That’s just a cynical attempt to force God’s hand, and he’s starting to affect God’s credibility. And if he can’t stop it with the politicized prophesying, then he should do the honorable thing and stop accepting donations. Why throw good money after bad theology?