Next Time, Call Darwin

Televangelist Pat Robertson has sort of stepped in it again and will be taking the usual arrows for suggesting that a town in Pennsylvania may be tempting fate after voting out school board members who favored the teaching of intelligent design:

Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson warned residents of a rural Pennsylvania town Thursday that disaster may strike there because they "voted God out of your city" by ousting school board members who favored teaching intelligent design.

All eight Dover, Pa., school board members up for re-election were defeated Tuesday after trying to introduce "intelligent design" - the belief that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by a higher power - as an alternative to the theory of evolution.

"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," Robertson said on the Christian Broadcasting Network's "700 Club."

While it would be easy to ridicule this, and don't worry, there will be plenty of people who do, Pat does make a point in his own awkward way. While I don't think there will be a hail and brimstone deluge in Dover this week, would it not be hypocritial for a town which votes God out of the schools to be calling on Him to save them when disaster strikes? There will be disasters from time to time whether brought by God or not, and you know the first thing that will happen is a prayer or memorial service.

Perhaps those who voted against intelligent design (assuming they survived) should just stay home from the memorials and think about how they were almost "evolved" out of existence.

For some reason "Oh Darwin, save us!" just doesn't have the same ring.

UPDATE: As Pastor Mark Daniels correctly points out, God responds to those who call on Him even if they're idiots (I added that last part - don't blame that on Mark). His post is good reading.