Pat Robertson Warns Dover Residents That God Won’t Protect Them

Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson went public Thursday with another of his inflammatory public attacks when he warned the residents of a rural Pennsylvania town that they had "voted God out of their city" when they chose not to re-elect school board members who favored teaching intelligent design in the public schools. Dover’s school board adopted a policy over a year ago that requires ninth-grade students to hear a prepared statement about intelligent design before they are taught evolution in biology class. Intelligent design, the belief that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by a higher power, was to be presented as an alternative to the scientific theory of evolution.

Eight families in Dover sued the school board in federal court, saying that the teaching of intelligent design promotes a Christian view of creation, thereby muddying the waters between church and state. The federal trial concluded several days ago, but no ruling has been issued in court. A ruling has been issued in the town of Dover, however, because eight Republican school board members were up for re-election on Tuesday and all eight were defeated.

The slate of Democrats who beat out the board members argued that science class was not the appropriate forum for teaching intelligent design. "My kids believe in God. I believe in God. But I don't think it belongs in the science curriculum the way the school district is presenting it," said Jill Reiter, 41, a bank teller who joined a group of high school students waving signs supporting the challengers during Tuesday’s election. The new board members have said they won’t act hastily in making any decisions after they are sworn in on December 5, and they will wait and consider the outcome of the court case. The judge expects to rule by January.

Thursday Pat Robertson decided to take advantage of the school board turnover in Dover by warning citizens of the town that disaster may now strike their town because of the results of the voting. On his Christian Broadcasting Network’s "700 Club" daily show, Robertson said, "I’d like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don’t turn to God. You just rejected Him from your city." On Thursday afternoon, no doubt in response to being flooded with outraged and critical callers, Robertson issued a follow-up statement saying he was simply trying to point out that "our spiritual actions have consequences." His statement continued, "God is tolerant and loving, but we can't keep sticking our finger in his eye forever. If they have future problems in Dover, I recommend they call on Charles Darwin. Maybe he can help them."

Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition of America, is known for his political outspokenness, and not always in a good way. In the past, he has ranted about feminism encouraging women to "kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians." In October of 2003, Robertson suggested that the State Department be blown up with a nuclear device. And this summer he made headlines with his shocking and unbelievable statements calling for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Robertson blatantly said that the United States should "take him out" because Chavez poses a danger to the country, and that his removal was necessary to stop Venezuela from becoming a "launching pad for communist influence and Muslim extremism." Robertson later apologized, but by then top political leaders had already begun to work feverishly on damage control, even though the damage had already been done.