ADN

Another chunk of goodness from insightbb.com:

Robertson Links Sharon Stroke, God's Wrath
Jan 5, 09:11 PM EST
By SONJA BARISIC - Associated Press Writer


NORFOLK, Va. (AP) -- Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson suggested Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine punishment for "dividing God's land."

"God considers this land to be his," Robertson said on his TV program "The 700 Club." "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.'"

Sharon, who ordered Israel's withdrawal from Gaza last year, suffered a severe stroke on Wednesday.

In Robertson's broadcast from his Christian Broadcasting Network in Virginia Beach, the evangelist said he had personally prayed about a year ago with Sharon, whom he called "a very tender-hearted man and a good friend." He said he was sad to see Sharon in this condition.

He also said, however, that in the Bible, the prophet Joel "makes it very clear that God has enmity against those who 'divide my land.'"

Sharon "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 (European Union), the United Nations, or the United States of America," Robertson said.

In discussing what he said was God's insistence that Israel not be divided, Robertson also referred to the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who had sought to achieve peace by giving land to the Palestinians. "It was a terrible thing that happened, but nevertheless he was dead," he said.

The Anti-Defamation League issued a statement urging Christian leaders to distance themselves from the remarks. Robertson made similar comments as the Gaza withdrawal occurred, it said.

"It is outrageous and shocking, but not surprising, that Pat Robertson once again has suggested that God will punish Israel's leaders for any decision to give up land to the Palestinians," said Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the group, which fights anti-Semitism. "His remarks are un-Christian and a perversion of religion. Unlike Robertson, we don't see God as cruel and vengeful."

The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said a religious leader "should not be making callous political points while a man is struggling for his life."

"Pat Robertson has a political agenda for the entire world, and he seems to think God is ready to take out any world leader who stands in the way of that agenda," Lynn said in a statement.

Robertson spokeswoman Angell Watts said of critics who challenged his remarks, "What they're basically saying is, `How dare Pat Robertson quote the Bible?'"

"This is what the word of God says," Watts said. "This is nothing new to the Christian community."

In August, Robertson suggested on "The 700 Club" that American agents should assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has long been at odds with U.S. foreign policy. Robertson later apologized for his remarks, saying he "spoke in frustration."

---

On the Net:

Christian Broadcasting Network: http://www.cbn.org

I was just reading about this. What a moron. :roll:

When will the media stop reporting what this asshole says, giving him his venue to spout moronic hatred.

now, first of all, I would like to clarify. I am upset with Jerry Falwell,.. but not about this.

Historically, when a ruler of this "holy" land has divided it, it has been followed with the downfall of his health, and the end of his life. That can not be ignored. Jerry Falwell is bringing this to attention with a couple of remarks that are typical of his blunt way of addressing subtle matters that he seeks to use to fuel his agenda.

However, his remarks are to the effect that support the events of the Bible, and the harshness with which the Jews are treated by their God when they displease him. I am not saying he is right, as much as his statements are not only consistent with his faith, but with that of the annuls of history the Jews claim as their own.

It is, in a sense, part of the religious history these two men share, and I think that Ariel Sharon (The Beautiful Lion of God) certainly has considered this exact thing. He may even nod in consideration were he to hear such comments. I know several Rabbi who would, and several Imama clerics, as well. This is the problem with the Palestinian/Israeli conflict... the land of unity never stays divided, and becomes a battleground. Even still, there are Jews and Palestinians who uphold that to divide the land is heresy, and believe, essentially, there can be only one people in the Holy Land. I in now way am saying they are right, but their views are consistent with their doctrine.

Scientifically, the impact of Sharon's renewed efforts after a bloody history definitely indicate the stressful times he has held ultimate governmental power of the People of Israel, and his close-quarters existence with the Palestinian State. There is no argument this stress put upon the Prime Minister led to to least a degradation of his heart condition. He also completely ignores that Ariel sharon ever had heart problems to begin with, or that it has been months since the withdrawal from Gaza, and God could have struck much "earlier" last year... were it his displeasure with Sharon that were at fault for his heart surgery.

So, though colored by his own zealous pride, Jerry Falwell's statements state the obvious... he just manages to make everyone offended, because he is vile in his insensitivity. It is not because he said something that I am offended, but that his motive to say it, was not out of love, but out of a need to demonstrate a "proof" that his religion is valid, in that a life is jeapordized by the breaking of a taboo.

Mankind must get past the notion that its deaths validate its beliefs,.. or we will be left a horde of dead believers and living souls bound by terror.

vertical,
raum

Too smart for your own good, man. lol

Honestly, people need to stop thinking religion has the answer to everything. The guy's getting up there in age and a stroke is nothing new for the older population.

and you don't think being a modern figurehead in power in one of the greatest global struggles in the known history of world has some kind of factor on his health, as well?

I'll take that option before I take "God's wrath".

sidenote: i wonder what "horrible atrocity" he attributes Sharon's unforseen recovery to?

God prefers Israeli homos to "local" ones?