God told me to type this — maybe

January 4, 2007 By

image540926xLet me begin with a personal appeal.

Dear Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, please speak to the Rev. Pat Robertson tonight. Please tell him to shut up, sooner rather than later. Urge him to retire to his prayer closet and close the door for a few years. Maybe he can bench press some massive leather-bound copies of ancient Bible commentaries, or something like that.

Amen.

Honest, GetReligion readers, you already know what I think about this situation. I know that it’s news when Robertson gets another shiver down his spine and decides to speak his mind on the air. I know that it’s news, but is it really as important as all this?

I guess so. Here’s the Associated Press, via CNN:

In what has become an annual tradition of prognostications, religious broadcaster Pat Robertson said Tuesday God has told him that a terrorist attack on the United States would result in “mass killing” late in 2007.

“I’m not necessarily saying it’s going to be nuclear,” he said during his news-and-talk television show “The 700 Club” on the Christian Broadcasting Network. “The Lord didn’t say nuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that.”

Robertson said God told him during a recent prayer retreat that major cities and possibly millions of people will be affected by the attack, which should take place sometime after September.

OK, here is what I said not that long ago in a column for Poynter.org. At that point, I was pleading with journalists to realize that Robertson is a great quote machine, but that he is way out of the evangelical mainstream and rarely within shouting distance of the Christian mainstream. Thus, I wrote:

… (We) have reached the point where some journalists are happy to see Robertson’s face on television screens, because every time he opens his mouth he reinforces their stereotype of a conservative Christian. And they may sincerely believe that he remains a powerful leader among American evangelicals, someone who provides an appropriate “conservative” voice during coverage of controversial events.

If this is true, then why is it so hard to find mainstream evangelicals and traditional Catholics who defend Robertson? Outside of a cable TV niche, where are his legions? In short, I’m convinced it is time for journalists to drop Robertson from their lists of “usual suspects.” That he ceases to be someone they turn to for quotes from “evangelical leaders.” He is a straw man.

Nevertheless, I will concede that there may be a valid news story lurking in this latest tempest in cable-TV land.

There are Christians who pray for God to give them parking spaces and there are also Christians who claim, on a regular basis, that God speaks directly to them.

Well, who are these people and why do they say this? Where do they fit, in the wide spectrum of Christian spirituality down through the ages? Are they the norm? Should they be taken seriously?

teresalrgI mean, it’s one thing for a determined nun in the slums of Calcutta, after facing the rigors of serving the poorest of the poor, to believe that God is telling her to start an order of nuns to carry on this work around the world.

When something like that happens her claims of revelation will be pondered by other people before they affect the lives of others. These kinds of personal revelations can be controversial, but they eventually must be claimed as valid by others — including the people who speak with authority to a Mother Teresa.

This is an ancient model of revelation and interpretation. Who uses this model today? Who does not?

Robertson is something else. He hears from God and, the next thing you know, he’s in front of a television camera and the green light is on. In whose name does he speak? What is his authority, in terms of Christian faith and tradition? Is he even typical of the rising Pentecostal tide in other parts of world Christianity?

I mean, note the personal pronouns in this new Robertson quote:

“I have a relatively good track record,” he said. “Sometimes I miss.”

In May, Robertson said God told him that storms and possibly a tsunami were to crash into America’s coastline in 2006. Even though the U.S. was not hit with a tsunami, Robertson on Tuesday cited last spring’s heavy rains and flooding in New England as partly fulfilling the prediction.

That’s all for now, friends. Sometimes I get angry and it’s best that I stop typing.

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Filed Under: Evangelicals, Humor, Journalism, Politics, Radio & TV
About TMatt

Terry Mattingly directs the Washington Journalism Center at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. He writes a weekly column for the Scripps Howard News Service.

  • http://www.southern-orthodoxy.blogspot.com Fr Joseph Huneycutt

    The story goes that when Elder Ephraim met with then Archbishop Spyridon for the first time, the Archbishop asked him: “How many monasteries have you started in this country?” Fr Ephraim said, “I have started none, God has started 14.” His Eminence thought for a moment before asking: “And how many more does God plan to start?”

    But, tmatt, forgive me for asking this here (the devil made me), but when are you ever going to reveal why you changed “church” to “parish?”

  • http://www.tmatt.net tmatt

    Hey, thanks for the reminder on that.

    I’ll try to do that sooner, rather than later. I head to San Diego today for a speaking gig. I should be plugged in there tonight.

  • Filipe

    The “I have a pretty good track record” quote is fantastic.
    God tells me things, and in his omnipotence and omniscience, he sometimes gets them right.
    He could at least say something like “This will happen – unless we all repent.” That’s a win win situation. If it happens it’s because of the sinners, if it doesn’t, he gets the credit for warning people and getting the “repentance” going.
    Of course he could also follow your advice and just shut up…

  • Darrell Grizzle

    Pat Robertson is “way out of the evangelical mainstream”?

    Depends on how you define mainstream. If you define it in terms of numbers – how many people are listening to (and financially supporting) ministries – then Pat is squarely in the mainstream, alongside James Dobson, Joel Osteen, and the other evangelicals listened to or watched by millions each week. It’s easy for us to dismiss Pat as the kook he is, but a LOT of evangelical Christians take Pat very seriously. We need to snap out of our denial and face that unpleasant fact.

  • http://www.jonswerens.com Jon Swerens

    No, Darrell, Pat Robertson is way out of the mainstream. Just because he’s loud and visible doesn’t mean much.

    A number of evangelicals watch his show, but that doesn’t mean they are his followers. And they’re not Moonies if they read The Washington Times, either.

    We’ll see if this petition picks up steam.

  • Rick

    Isn’t this similar to our situation with former president Jimmy Carter? And Pat ran for president, too. So that makes anything he says for the rest of his life worth quoting by journalists who (as you say) are looking for someone to make their point for them.

  • http://www.anotherthink.com Charlie

    Yes, Robertson says embarrassing things, and as a Christian I do sometimes wish he’d shut up. But Terry, there’s a journalistic question here that is important: How many Christians believe that God speaks to them when they pray? And what does that verb “speak” mean? A voice? A feeling?

    There is a divide in Christianity between those who believe that God, in the Holy Spirit, still speaks to his people, and those who believe prayer is a monologue. Robertson may not have many followers, but his attitudes about God revealing his will through prayer are quite mainstream in the conservative Christian circles that I run in.

  • Jerry

    I have no way of knowing if Robertson actually believes what he says or is a hypocrit, but I do agree that he does not deserve the air time he gets. Maybe his predictions belong on the same page as the rest of the annual “psychics predict’ lineup.

    The comparison between Mother Tersesa and Robertson is apt. God does speak to us, but our responsibility is to learn which voice is His and which come from our own desires. Experience should be that teacher. Having a decent track record in prediction should be all that someone needs to decide that the voice is not God’s.

  • http://www.geocities.com/frgregacca/stfel.html Fr. Greg

    Charlie:

    The issue here is one of communal discernment, as Terry discusses regarding Mother Teresa (although he doesn’t use that word). To use charismatic-speak for a moment, the gifts of the Spirit may indeed operate through individual persons, but they are given to the Church, the body of Christ, as a whole, and it is the privilege, duty, and responsibility of the Christian Community to discern and direct the operation of those gifts. Another word that is important here: accountability. Does Pat hold himself accountable to anyone? I doubt it.

  • http://filmchatblog.blogspot.com/ Peter T Chattaway

    It is curious that Robertson would defend his prediction of “something as bad as a tsunami in the Pacific Northwest” by appealing to heavy rains and flooding in New England, because the Pacific Northwest did get “a rare tsunami warning” recently, as well as “wind just shy of hurricane force“, during a series of storms that “took the first and second spots on Environment Canada’s list of the top weather stories of 2006.” As one Christian political pundit argues, “the prophecy, in the strictest sense, was correct.”

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  • http://www.oca.org NewTrollObserver

    Some people do have some limited kind of pre-cognitive ability, which might sometimes turn out to be fairly accurate.

    But too attribute one’s precognition to a “voice from God” — that’s a whole ‘nother question.

  • Dena

    I mean, note the personal pronouns in this new Robertson quote:

    “I have a relatively good track record,” he said. “Sometimes I miss.”

    Mr. Robertson is subconsciously admitting that these predictions do not come from God, because even Pat knows that God doesn’t miss. ;)

  • Larry Rasczak

    Excuse me: Lets take a look at the substance of Robertson’s prediction.

    It doesn’t take precongnition or Divine Revelation to know that the terrorists want to kill Americans, they want to kill LOTS of Americans, and they want to do it here, and they want to do it today. All it takes is an internet connection.

    The Arab and Iranian (there is a difference) Media is out there saying just that every day! These people have been burning American flags, kindnaping our people, blowing up everthing they can (including themselves)and screaming “Death to America” since the 60s! Not to mention conducting intafadas, rocketing Israel, taking over Somalia (thank Etheopia for there efforts in that one), fighting us in Afghanistan, hijacking our airliners and cruse ships, and Iraq, and blowing up our Ebassies as well as the occasional Spanish Train, London Bus, USMC Barracks, and New York skyscraper.

    Go read Little Green Footballs for goodness sake!Look at the video clip from 9-11 of Palestinians celebrating in the streets. Why on Earth would ANYONE think they don’t really MEAN IT when they scream “Death to America?”

    The miracle is that we HAVEN’T been hit since 9/11/01; and it’s not for lack of trying on their part. Statisticaly they are going to get lucky sometime, and lots of people are going to die.

    It doesn’t take a psychic or a prophet to figure this out. My COFFEE CUP is smart enough to figure THIS one out!

    So as predictions go, this isn’t a tough one.

  • http://www.anotherthink.com Charlie

    Fr. Greg: Thank you for that clarification about the role of the church. What you say is true. Yet, it is also true that there are numerous individuals in Scripture who received and responded to a revelation from God without stopping to check with their local church to see if they had heard right: Jonah comes to mind, and in the book of Acts we have Ananias being called to visit Saul. Peter, going to the house of Cornelius obeys the call of God first, then explains himself to the church after the fact.

    Robertson believes he has heard from God. What other authority does he need before he acts on what he has heard? There are many frameworks in Christianity for how one responds to revelation, and in his charismatic tradition, Robertson is acting appropriately. He hears, he testifies to what he has heard. And the church prayerfully judges whether what he has said is from God or not.

    The assumption here is that God still speaks, and although Robertson himself is getting the attention, it would be more interesting to discover what our modern attitudes are towards the idea that “God speaks today, in 2007.”

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  • Alex

    Isn’t there something in the Bible about a prophet who says things will happen and them not happening being a false prophet and that you are not to listen to them?

  • Rev. Daniel Lazenberry

    I am always amazed when people attack Pat Robertson for his predictions and/or opinions when more than likely they have not read the Bible, do not attend church and probably do NOT pray as well. In other words they are not true believers but people who find it pleasurable to attack defenders of the gospel truth instead of defend it. And since when does the majority opinion of religious leaders have to support What Robertson says in order to give him credibility? Prophets of old most certainly did not rely on the opinions of others. Whether or not Robertson received a message from God remains to be seen. I just hope that those who criticize Christians will have the courage to admit that they are wrong and ask for forgiveness before the time comes for them to leave this world. In other words, I hope and pray that Robertson’s predictons will not come to pass. I highly reccommend Jack Van Impe Presents, a highly praised TV program that airs frequently an in-depth analysis of Biblical prophecy. CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS.

  • Dave

    Some people do have some limited kind of pre-cognitive ability, which might sometimes turn out to be fairly accurate.

    Wow, we sure are lucky to have an expert like you around! Any other hot scoops?

  • http://www.geocities.com/frgregacca Fr. Greg

    Alex:

    Yes. See Deuteronomy 13:1-3 and 18:20-22.

    Daniel:

    Last time I checked, Van Impe and company were not “prophesying” but were applying a Darbyite/Lindseyan dispensationalist hermeneutic to the prophecies in Scripture. This understanding, pioneered by John Nelson Darby, was unheard of until the early nineteenth century.

    Charlie:

    I agree with your last statement. A couple of points: first, while I would agree that God still speaks to Christians today, there is a large difference between this manner of “speaking” and how God so spoke to the prophets of the OT and to the Apostles in the New Testament. In other words, the time of general revelation closed with the death of the last Apostle. However, it is clear that supernatural manifestations such as prophecy have always been present throughout the history of the Church. Given that, you may find it interesting to compare the careers of Robertson, et. al. with a couple of his near-contemporaries: the Orthodox bishop, St. John Maximovich, called the Wonderworker, and St. Pio of Pietrelcina, an Italian Franciscan who is commonly known as “Padre Pio”. Another such figure, from a somewhat earlier period, is St. Seraphim of Sarnov. I think the RC teaching on “private revelation” is relevant here, and pretty well sums up the attitude of the historic Churches to such phenomena, especially when they claim to be relevant to the Church and world in general, not simply to the recipient and/or his or her immediate faith community.

  • http://www.oca.org NewTrollObserver

    Wow, we sure are lucky to have an expert like you around! Any other hot scoops?

    Don’t be playa hatin. Hate da game, not da playa.