We have previously seen how Christian leaders like Pat Robertson routinely attributed natural disasters like Katrina to God’s revenge for everything from gay rights to abortion to secularism. Not to be outdone, according to various sites, Colorado pastors Kevin Swanson and Dave Buehner have informed the faithful that the recent deadly forest fires were punishment for gay rights and abortion even though they struck the conservative areas of Colorado Springs rather than places like Boulder. Presumably, God also wanted 19 fire fighters killed in Arizona under the same theory.
What is striking about these bizarre claims is that there is a population that loves the model of a vengeful Old Testament God who thinks nothing of wiping out villages or most of Mankind because he is peeved with some affront. They also want to believe that God is randomly killing people for sins to complete their own twisted view of faith.
Swanson noted that a Denver Post photograph of State House Majority Leader Mark Ferrandino kissing his partner also helped trigger God’s wrath.
Of course, that still leave the odd fact that God chose to hit Colorado Springs which is deeply conservative and spared the liberal areas of Colorado — a pattern that might suggest God is pretty liberal. That did not stop these two pastors:
Buehner: Why Colorado Springs? Understand that Colorado itself is a state that has been begging for God’s judgment. How did we do that? Well, we were the first state to make abortion legal; you could murder your baby as long as it’s in your womb.
. . .
Swanson: When you have a state where the House leadership is performing a homosexual act on the front page of the Denver Post two months ago? Does God read the Denver Post? Do you think He picks up a copy of the Denver Post? He gets it. God gets the Denver Post.
Buehner concluded that Coloradans should be glad God “hasn’t destroyed the whole state yet” as “an act of grace.” But why were the fires concentrated in Colorado Springs, Buehner asked, “Why not wipe out Boulder or Denver” where all the Democrats live? He answered his own question: “Judgment begins in the House of God.”
They also attacked airplane movies showing breasts, young men “doing the metrosexual thing with the skinny pants and the little fairy shoe” and women wearing pantsuits.
One can debate whether people like this actually believe this nonsense, but clearly people listen who want to hear that God is killing people in retribution for sins. Of course, massive fires occurred before the birth of Jesus Christ and natural disasters have struck the most God fearing, conservative areas. None of that even slows down the narrative.
The curious thing about this narrative is that one would normally assume that God is at least as good a person as most human beings. If we ever met a person who kills people randomly to express anger, we should view him as a psychotic individual. Yet, those same attributes are constantly reaffirmed by pastors like these two individuals.
By the way, Swanson has also condemned the new Star Trek movie on the basis for inter-species sex . . . and suggested it is the natural extension of evolution: “He said the movie “implicates the good guy in the film as mating with the wrong species, but not just one, but two. . . That’s how you get evolution, and so the end result of course is that evolution has no basic problem with bestiality or cross-species mating.”
I want to add a short note re this: that people like this man are the American version of the mullahs. They are the vile, hate filled, fundamentalists that purport to know god, but know little more than their blinkered beliefs out of which they spew this sort of trash.
I posted a number of thoughts about the nature of fundamentalism in the post http://jonathanturley.org/2013/07/02/dancing-in-the-rain-two-teenage-girl-and-their-mother-killed-for-dancing-during-sudden-downpour-in-pakistan
In that space I referenced this article as illustration of our version of fundamentalists. It is late for this conversation I suppose, but I thought to at least make a link back.
I agree with most of the responses here. I propose that we take a look at the underlying philosophical energetic behind this sort of thinking, and realize that it is replete in our public square. I’d love it if there were a thread dedicated to that conversation!
And in particular, to follow the contours of this blog, have that conversation in terms of the law, and the constitution! That would be rich!
thx
Michael
Major mistake to think that pastors like these are subject to annoying things like “facts” and “logic” and “compassion.” Reciting facts and using logic or making a compassionate argument to refute their rantings is like talking to the wall.
But God loves drone strikes, right?
They call themselves “Pastor” because they have a “Flock”. The have a Flock to Fleece. Those who Can do. Those who cant’, Preach. Those who can Preach, fleece flocks. Those who can fleece flocks can put their kids through college. Those flocks who get fleeced went in dumb and come out dumb too. Where is Randy Newman when we really need him? He could put all this to music and lyrics. Like the Rednecks song.
These guys must be the false prophets we’ve been warned about.
“The curious thing about this narrative is that one would normally assume that God is at least as good a person as most human beings. If we ever met a person who kills people randomly to express anger, we should view him as a psychotic individual. Yet, those same attributes are constantly reaffirmed by pastors like these two individuals.”
…god is ultimately made in mans image.. That is why his wrath is limited to being expressed, as was so well stated above, by forest fires in summer and hurricanes in hurricane season.
Truly … it is time to grow up.
The stupidly of some folks is amazing…..
I bet he, the faux priest, thinks that there god killed the firemen because they liked playing with others hoses…..
The Christian view is that God does not cause bad things to happen. He only does not intervene to stop bad things from happening from time to time. If anyone, it is Beelzebub who causes bad things to happen so that he can blame the events on God or maybe George Bush.
God got ripped off buying pot in Colorado, that’s why he’s pissed.
Winski and all others who have opined
No one really knows what God is doing. What we do know is that he does not approve of the gay lifestyle or any sin for that matter. What is true is that punishment always starts in the house of God because we. Just clean up our own home before looking to others. People in this country who do not think that God will not punish America as it continues on the gay track are only kidding themselves. They are like the frog in cold water not realizing the burner is on.
How long must we indulge these pea-brained people ?? How can they, and their seemingly mindless followers, just let their brain stop ??? Breathtaking.
OT: NC Senate, in the 11th hour before end of session for the 4th, attaches sweeping abortion restriction, almost identical to the bill just filibustered in Texas and reported to reduce NC abortion clinics to 1, just passed less than 2 hours ago, at around 8:15pm Tuesday.
Oh, I forgot the best part. The bill the abortion stipulations are attached to is an “anti-Sharia law” bill, so that anyone apposing this bill can be labeled “pro-Sharia law” during next election.
Absolute insanity here folks. Be glad you are anywhere but here right now. ALEC owns this state.
Otteray Scribe, you following this?
No links for fear of the mod bin, but the “debate” is available to watch in full already.
The movie Oh, God! (1977), book by Avery Corman and screenplay by Larry Gelbart, nicely covered the issue of man-made problems as well as natural disasters in the following converstions, respectively:
Jerry Landers: If you’re God, how can You permit all the suffering that goes on in the world?
God: I don’t permit the suffering – you do.
. . .
Jerry Landers: People are always praying to You. Do You listen?
God: I can’t help hearing. I don’t always listen.
Jerry Landers: So then You don’t care.
God: Of course I care! But what can I do?
Jerry Landers: What can You do? You’re God!
God: Only for the big picture. I don’t get into details.
pete,
Many times, but years ago. It was brought up on another thread here recently and somebody linked to it. My favorite Niven essay.
god looks confused and angry in that picture of him. I wonder if he is american
Gene,
Panspermia? I draw the line at sex with kitchen utensils. I got principles.
After the Scopes Monkey Trial, the religious extremists virtually vanished from politics for about 50 years! Maybe history repeats itself.
I kinda think it is the result of anthropogenic climate change driven by fossil fueled consumerism. If the fires are by the wrathful hand of a pyro-maniacal God reeking justice, might I suggest the Sand Creek Massacre as the resoon? Remember the Gibeonites!