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Robertson: God caused Sharon's stroke
By Esther Kaplan Fri Jan 06, 2006 at 01:19:41 PM EST printable version print story
Thanks to People for the American Way for catching Pat Robertson's inflammatory comments on the 700 Club regarding Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon's recent stroke. Robertson said the stroke was just God expressing his "enmity against those who 'divide my land,'" no doubt a reference to the hawkish Sharon's withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and his recent decision to reengage in land-for-peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. Robertson and the Christian Coalition have long advocated for a "greater Israel" that would include every last inch of Palestinian-controlled land. The relevant transcript follows.

Ladies and Gentlemen I said last year that Israel was entering into the most dangerous periods of its entire existence as a nation. That is intensifying this year with the loss of Sharon. Sharon was personally a very likeable person and I am sad to see him in this condition, but I think we need to look at the Bible and the Book of Joel. The prophet Joel makes it very clear that God has enmity against those who "divide my land." God considers this land to be His. You read the Bible and He says "this is my land" and for any Prime Minister of Israel who decides he is going to carve it up and give it away, God says "no, this is mine." I had a wonderful meeting with Yitzhak Rabin in 1974. He was tragically assassinated, it was a terrible thing that happened but nevertheless he was dead. And now Ariel Sharon who again was a very likeable person, a delightful person to be with, I prayed with him personally, but here he's at the point of death. He was dividing God's land and I would say woe unto any Prime Minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the EU, the United Nations, or the United States of America. God says "this land belongs to me. You'd better leave it alone."


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Display:
Robertson: God caused Sharon's stroke | 6 comments (6 topical, 0 hidden)
Riddle me this: (none / 0)
Why hasn't God given ol' Pat the Supreme Smiting for saying all these hateful and ugly things?

Maybe it's because God has a sense of humor, and lots and lots of rope for Robertson.

Or maybe he did vanish in an Adamesque puff of logic or is too distracted with other things to come back and be smiteful.

One can almost set one's watch by when Robertson comes out with some sort of hateful froth after something bad happens.

Sad, really...


by Lorie Johnson on Fri Jan 06, 2006 at 01:58:00 PM EST

Robertson has a very simple formula : (none / 0)
Life is a procession of countless calamities. Robertson is simply cherry-picking those which effect persons or groups he dislikes and declaring those disasters "God's punishment".

That's a cheap, ugly, and shoddy parlor trick similar in a fashion to shooting herd animals running along a flat plain, from a helicopter above, with a high powered automatic weapon :

Little thought or skill is required. Merely malice.

by Bruce Wilson on Fri Jan 06, 2006 at 02:42:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]



Gee.... (none / 0)
I would have to suppose - by logical extension - that Mr. Robertson feels all territory on Earth except for Israel to not be "God's Land", and America would certainly fall into the category.

But, why on Earth would God have created an entire planet only to fixate on such a tiny geographic area ? Wouldn't the entire Earth ( by definition ) be rightfully considered "God's Land" ?

I'm not trying to provoke theological debate, merely to note the extent of the morass Robertson tries to pawn off as certainty.

And, speaking of certainty, isn't Pat Robertson claiming - essentially - to be God's chosen mouthpiece ? That would seem mightily presumptuous to this observer.

by Bruce Wilson on Fri Jan 06, 2006 at 02:31:22 PM EST


Thanks for posting... (none / 0)
I was about to do one myself... but you've saved me the trouble... =o)

I can only think that the Religious Right must have decided that they don't need the Jewish-right vote anymore, since they're going out of their way lately to piss off both Jews and Israelis...

-Emily
emilywynn.blogspot.com


by EmilyWynn8 on Fri Jan 06, 2006 at 04:23:11 PM EST

Suspect he's on pretty safe ground (none / 0)
The Religious Right here is hooked up primarily with conservative Jews here and in Israel. Some think no land should be given up and hated Sharon for giving up Gaza. They were afraid he'd give up some of the West Bank as well. Although most of the right and left seem to be responding reasonably to the current crisis, Israel has its fringe, too:

However, not all among the right wing were praying for Sharon's recovery. Some even demonstrated their joy openly. Right-wing extremist Baruch Marzel, head of the National Jewish Front group, said "I'm fed up with the parade of sanctimonious hypocrites. Sharon caused huge damage to the nation and I am not praying to save him."

Members of the former Kach movement did not bother to hide their glee. Yesterday, a few hours before Sharon was taken to the hospital, dozens of Kach activists gathered at the Tapuach settlement to mark the anniversary of the murder of Benjamin Ze'ev Kahane and his wife, Talia, by terrorists.

Some of them, who took part a few months ago in pulsa denura (Kabbalistic curse) ceremony on Sharon, said that God had sent his angels to neutralize Sharon, so that he could do no more harm to the nation of Israel.



by Psyche on Sat Jan 07, 2006 at 03:17:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]


Israel. (none / 0)
There have been enmities and fights over land for centuries...but the important thing to note is there will be no peace until Israel and the Palestinians acknowledge each other's right to exist and can learn to coexist together in peace.

by akaladystar on Fri Jan 20, 2006 at 12:50:39 PM EST

Robertson: God caused Sharon's stroke | 6 comments (6 topical, 0 hidden)

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