Personal Relationship with God = God doesn’t talk to me

One of the absurd ideas of Christianity is the whole notion of having a personal relationship with God. In many cases, Christians will believe that God is talking back to them or guiding them. In my late teens (growing up in a fundamentalist family), I couldn’t help but notice how frequently ‘God’s instructions’ tended to be bad advice in hindsight. I had also seen different Christians come to different conclusions when they prayed for God’s guidance. I came to the conclusion that ‘God’s instructions’ were little more than the deep feelings of whomever was praying mixed with thoughts about what God would instruct someone to do (and that was influenced by their own beliefs about God – was God primarily concerned with justice and righteousness, or was he mainly concerned with loving people). Hence, judgmental Christians tended to get “instructions from God” that were more judgmental. Loving Christians tended to get “instructions from God” that were more loving. Most Christians were smart enough to stay away from specific predictions about future events because those could be proven false – and what would that mean for their faith?

Well, Pat Robertson, always confident that he hears God’s voice, made yet another failed prediction. Amazing that these people never learn from experience, isn’t it?

FOX News, January 03, 2007: Pat Robertson’s Dire Prediction

Today on the show we talked about New Year’s predictions, specifically from evangelist Pat Robertson. His big prediction is that a major terrorist attack will happen somewhere in the U.S. after September of this year and it will affect millions of people. He says he received word from God about this event. He’s put out predictions before — some right and some wrong. Hopefully he will not be right about this one.

Breitbart, January 2, 2007: Robertson Predicts ‘Mass Killing’

In what has become an annual tradition of prognostications, religious broadcaster Pat Robertson predicted Tuesday 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.”

Failed again. It’s amazing to think that three million people volunteered to work for his 1988 presidential campaign, and that he finished second in the Iowa caucus, getting 25% of the vote and beating George H.W. Bush. Heck, I remember Robertson being my parent’s favorite candidate.