Pat Robertson blamed Sharon stroke on policy of "dividing God's land"

[davidfcooper]

http://mediamatters.org/items/200601050004

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports that Robertson today "suggested Sharon, who is currently in an induced coma, and former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, assassinated by an Israeli extremist in 1995, were being treated with enmity by God for dividing Israel." According to JTA, Robertson admonished, "Woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the E.U., the United Nations or the United States of America. God says, This land belongs to me. You better leave it alone." (click for JTA article)

Pat Robertson is of course the same self-styled politically conservative religious leader who:

** FEMA encouraged Americans to make donations to in the wake of Hurricane Katrina;

** Recently argued for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez;

** Virginia Senator and GOP presidential hopeful George Allen has been cozying up to.

Comments

[anaisdjuna.livejournal.com]

....and that's just the short list....

Pat! Such a freak!

G-d is not mocked.

[virtual-rabbi.livejournal.com]

Rashi says it, too. The seminal medival biblical commentator Rashi claims that the reason the Torah, essentially a book of laws of conduct for Jews, begins with Genesis is only to show everyone the He is the Creator of all and Owner of all, that He owns the Land of Israel and will give it to whom He pleases. Rashi even predicts that other nations will always say, "listim atem," you are bandits who have stolen the land. From a secular point of view, where G-d (heaven forfen) is not seen to be a factor, they may have a point. In that case, just like in all other nations, "might makes right" and whoever can take a land should posess it. Isn't that how America got here? The Norman conquest of England, etc.?

In fact, it is only the religio-historical argument that makes any sense as the Jewish case for living in the Land of Israel, as Rashi aptly points out.

Robertson attempted only to point out what he believes (knows!) to be true. It is only the secular-Atheist worldview of the media that leads to the misinterpretation.

You can dislike Robertson all you want, and I carry no water for him, but in fact, the Christian religious perspective---in fact the Muslim religious perspective as well---is that the Land of Israel is spiritually special to G-d and that He owns it. The Torah agrees. The only argument is about what G-d wants.

And as much as one might regret the circumstances of an individual's life and apparent fortune or misfortune, people of faith believe that G-d is in charge of it all.

All Robertson did was state what is obvious to people of faith, and yes, it is likely he did it knowing he was providing a challenge to secular-Atheist culture. They respond with ad hominem attacks, because they are too blind even to see the challenge. Since they are certain they are correct, the only possible explanation is that Robertson is a vicious and dangerous social troglodyte. They couldn't be further off in my opinion.

Your pal,
Ben

Re: G-d is not mocked.

[davidfcooper.livejournal.com]

You seem to agree with Robertson's view that either one is a fundamentalist or an atheist, with no shades of gray in between. This is very insulting to liberal religious people of all denominations.

Re: G-d is not mocked.

[(Anonymous)]

Well it just shows to go you...
...how things are easily misinterpreted. Perhaps I wasn't clear.

Since I am not aware of having said anything that was intended to insult, I have a difficult time understanding that response. Any insult would have been unintended.

Having read the article and viewed the sound bite, it seemed clear to me that the headline writer and news reporter had, perhaps even willfully, misrepresented Robertson's position.

Yes, fundimentalists think G-d runs everything, so of course they think that Sharon's stroke came from Him. Yes, Atheists believe He does not exist, so He doesn't run anything... I get that you are a Theist, from your upset.

What is your belief about how G-d acts in the world, then, especially vis-a-vis the individual, and how is it insulting to you if I think that the reporter was taking an Atheistic point of view, especially since you are a Theist of some sort?

you pal,
Ben
jew curmudgeon poet
www.livejournal.com/users/virtual_rabbi

Re: G-d is not mocked.

[davidfcooper.livejournal.com]

I'm not a fundamentalist, I don't think God intervenes directly in everything, but that does not make me an atheist. I think the kabbalistic concept of tsitsum, that God extracted Himself from His creation in order to give us free will is a better allegory than a literal belief that God directly intervenes in all human affairs. The poetic language of scripture should not be read literally as prose.

BTW, most Israelis were also offended by Robertson's remarks:

Israel Breaks Off Tourism Talks With Pat Robertson
By GREG MYRE

JERUSALEM, Jan. 11 - Israel said today it was breaking off negotiations on a tourism project with the evangelical leader, Pat Robertson, in response to his remarks suggesting that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine retribution. "We cannot accept these statements, and we will not sign any contracts with Mr. Robertson," a spokesman for Israel's Tourism Ministry, Ido Hartuv, said.

Israel had been negotiating with a group of American evangelicals, including by Mr. Robertson, on a large Christian pilgrimage and tourism center in the hills near the Sea of Galilee, where the Bible says Jesus lived and preached. Under the proposal, Israel planned to provide at least 35 acres for the Christian Heritage Center and the American evangelicals intended to raise about $50 million for its construction. A theme park, an auditorium and an outdoor theater were part of the plan, reports said. Israel believes the project would draw large numbers of Christian tourists from around the world and create thousands of jobs in a thinly populated region that the government has long struggled to develop.

But Mr. Robertson upset many Israelis when he suggested that Mr. Sharon's devastating stroke, which he suffered Jan. 4, was divine punishment for pulling Israel out of the Gaza Strip last summer. "God considers this land to be his," Mr. Robertson said on Jan. 5 on his "700 Club" television program. "For any prime minister of Israel who decides he will carve it up and give it away, God said, 'No, this is mine.' I would say woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course," the evangelist added. Mr. Robertson also went on to say that Mr. Sharon is a "very likable person and I am sad to see him in this condition."

Christian evangelicals are strong supporters of Israel, and in recent years they have formed alliances with a variety of Israeli groups, particularly those opposed to any territorial concessions to the Palestinians. Israel has generally welcomed the political and financial support despite the theological differences.

"Evangelicals are the best friends of Israel and they are very, very welcome here," Mr. Hartuv said.

The discussions on the tourism project were in an advanced stage, though contracts had not yet been signed, Mr. Hartuv said. Israel will continue to pursue the project, he said, adding that "other leaders of the evangelical community are most welcome to do business with us."