It is reported that Pat Robertson has once again opened his mouth. As is usually the case when this happens, he has reminded everyone that he is an asshole:

The Reverend Pat Robertson says Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's massive stroke could be God's punishment for giving up Israeli territory.

The founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network told viewers of "The 700 Club" that Sharon was "dividing God's land," even though the Bible says doing so invites "God's enmity."

Robertson added, "I would say woe to any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course."

He noted that former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated.

Robertson said God's message is, "This land belongs to me. You'd better leave it alone."

Assuming this news report is an accurate portrayal of his words, I have to wonder once again why Robertson can't learn to keep his mouth closed. If God was really in the business of punishing people for being "bad" like Pat Robertson believes, well...what I'm thinking isn't very nice.

Hey Pat, here's a hint for you. When someone gets ill, or something bad happens, the proper response is simply, "we'll be praying for him/her and his/her family." Duh. Maybe if Robertson would just reread the book of Job and ask himself if it's really a good idea to keep acting just like Job's friends, he could avoid being a jackass all the time.

UPDATE:

Well, both CNN and MSNBC are reporting what Robertson said. And now his spokesperson had this to say:

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.”

Um. No. This is not what the Bible says. Robertson is guilty of misquoting it and pulling things out of context. In point of fact, Robertson's position is unscriptural, in the sense that it stands opposed to what the Bible actually says. But his spokesperson is right: it's not new to the Christian community. We seem to have no lower percentage of assholes among us than the human race as a whole. Not too surprising, I guess. It's just too bad Roberson is one of those assholes, whose theology is that of Job's friends: stupid and wrong.