Quake-Related Tsunami Hits Hawaii; Robertson Silent on Cause

The earthquake in Chile has triggered a tsunami that has hit various places including Hawaii. The damage, however, did not live up to predictions. According to the Associated Press:

The tsunami was causing a series of surges that were about 20 minutes apart, and the waves arrived later and smaller than originally predicted. The highest wave at Hilo measured 5.5 feet (1.7 meters) high, while Maui saw some as high as 2 meters (6.5 feet).

No word yet on whether Pat Robertson has a twisted explanation for the earthquake. This earthquake was was stronger than the one in Haiti. Robertson stated that slave-freeing Satanism caused the devastation in Haiti. Maybe Robertson will blame President Obama for the tsunami; he is from Hawaii.

According to Pat Robertson, Christians Are Crazy and Bloodthirsty

President Obama recently signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Pat Robertson is very upset. He believes that the law is bad news for Christians:

The noose has tightened around the necks of Christians to keep them from speaking out on certain moral issues. And it all was embodied in something called the Hate crimes bill that President Obama said was a major victory for America. I’m not sure if America was the beneficiary. . . .We have voted into office a group of people who are opposed to many of the fundamental Christian beliefs of our nation. And they hold to radical ideology, and they are beginning put people sharing their points of view into high office. And not only that, they not only have control of both houses of Congress.

Assuming that people who believe Pat Robertson have the capacity to read, here is the actual language from the statute that addresses "hate crimes" committed on the basis of sexual orientation (and other categories):

Whoever . . . willfully causes bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, a dangerous weapon, or an explosive or incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to any person, because of the actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of any person. . . [shall be liable for criminal penalties stated in this legislation].

So, in order to believe Robertson, one must also believe that Christians, by definition, want to "willfully" cause "bodily injury" to people in the listed categories. Robertson's grotesque logic also requires the listener to ignore the fact that the law also protects Christians -- and everyone else -- from religion-based violence.

Earth to Robertson: Your blatant lies are a bigger threat to Christianity than this legislation.

Marrying Church and State? The Unseemly Focus on Religion in Politics

During the primaries, Obama's church received more passionate attention than his policy proposals. The conflict over Reverend Wright caused commentators to debate race, religion, and transparency in politics. Most of them, however, failed to ask a simple question: Why is this even relevant? Now that the media are focusing on Obama's yet unchosen church in Washington, DC, this issue will likely remain on the political radar.

From my perspective, religion has no part in governance, and an abundance of constitutional doctrine and tradition limits the interaction of religion and state action. Given this separation of church and state, the sensationalized coverage of the religious lives of political candidates strikes me as a puzzling display in distraction. Nonetheless, candidates now engage in a bizarre ritual in which they routinely profess a belief in God or Jesus. Confessing such a belief is now mandatory, just like saying that one wants to "improve schools" and "reduce crime."

During the recent political campaign, liberals spent a lot of time debunking rumors that Obama is a Muslim, rather than asking the relevance of such rumors on his suitability for public office. I am far more interested in how candidates will design policy. And religion is a pretty weak proxy for policy views. Reverend Wright and Pat Robertson are both "Christians," but they have very different opinions on public policy. Perhaps the media should end the circus by delving into policy -- rather than trying to figure out whether Sarah Palin practices witchcraft or whether Obama's minister wanted 9/11 to happen. But then again policy debates do not generate as much "traffic" as religious or sexual scandals, so I do not expect much to change in this area.