# No Isabel Worries - Pat Robertson to the rescue! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 17, 2003, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106 "2003-09-17T11:43:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106/1 "2003-09-17T11:43:54Z")
> [@](#): > > …religious broadcaster Pat Robertson prayed on his Christian Broadcasting Network, based in Virginia Beach, that Isabel would turn from the coast. He asked God to put a “wall of protection” around Virginia Beach and the East Coast. “In the name of Jesus,” Robertson prayed on “The 700 Club,” “we reach out our hand in faith and we command that storm to cease its forward motion to the north and to turn and to go out into the sea.” [Link.](http://www.msnbc.com/news/961894.asp?vts=091720030444) Whew. For a minute there, I was worried. - Rick ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106/2 "2003-09-17T12:03:15Z")
While I don’t wish tragedy on anyone, I think it’d be a hoot if Isabel leveled Robertson’s little empire. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106/3 "2003-09-17T12:05:26Z")
Greaaaaaaat. Now when it causes minimal damage other than a bunch of rain, he’ll claim it was his “wall” that done did it. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106/4 "2003-09-17T12:08:49Z")
Wow, cool. If I knew you could call on Jay-esus to give you your very own force field, I’d have been in church every freaking day. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106/5 "2003-09-17T12:09:30Z")
Yeah, what? Now we have to hope that we get sent over the rainbow? Man, that takes all the fun out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106/6 "2003-09-17T12:19:19Z")
Think if I send him a check I can get my own personal Wall of Protection[sub]tm[/sub]? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106/7 "2003-09-17T13:08:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > \*\*Greaaaaaaat. Now when it causes minimal damage other than a bunch of rain, he’ll claim it was his “wall” that done did it. \*\* And if it causes substantial damage, he’ll blame it on gays, liberals, and the ACLU. There’s no winning with that :wally. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106/8 "2003-09-17T13:18:27Z")
You know, I have no love for the guy, but I can’t really argue with what he’s praying for here. I want it to turn and go out to sea, too. It’d be better for a lot of people. Just sayin’ is all. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106/9 "2003-09-17T13:38:11Z")
Rick, I couldn’t find any reference to the quoted material in the link provided in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Muldoon\_s\_Squishiness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Muldoon\_s\_Squishiness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muldoon_s_Squishiness)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106/10 "2003-09-17T13:47:33Z")
Y’all know that this is the 2nd time that Robertson’s done the old “Pray and ask God to save my Broadcasting Empire from the Satanic, Liberal, Homosexual Hurricane” right? The first time was back in the late 1980’s early '90’s. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106/11 "2003-09-17T14:03:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Homosexual Hurricane Now _that’s_ a blow job! ---
**Author:** ![headshok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@headshok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/headshok)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106/12 "2003-09-17T14:19:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Muldoon’s Squishiness \* > \*\*Y’all know that this is the 2nd time that Robertson’s done the old “Pray and ask God to save my Broadcasting Empire from the Satanic, Liberal, Homosexual Hurricane” right? > > The first time was back in the late 1980’s early '90’s. \*\* Actually, he does this shit whenever a hurricane gets anywhere close to here. There was 1995, when Hurricane Felix was Headed Right For Us, and ol’ Pat made him go away. And of course, who could forget Hurricane Gloria in 1985? Pat made a few calls, and Gloria just missed us and slammed into Long Island and Connecticut instead. :rolleyes: Pat’s God is a bit of a dick, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106/13 "2003-09-17T14:21:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Angel of the Lord \* > \*\*You know, I have no love for the guy, but I can’t really argue with what he’s praying for here. I want it to turn and go out to sea, too. It’d be better for a lot of people. > > Just sayin’ is all. \*\* God could have saved a lot of lives by steering Typhoon Maemi away from South Korea. It’d have been a lot better for those people in the Bahamas if God had changed the course of hurricane Fabian, too. But I guess _they_ didn’t pray hard enough? I wonder if Pat Robertson prayed for God to deflect the storms bearing down on _them_? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106/14 "2003-09-17T14:36:29Z")
Didn’t Robertson once pray for a hurricane to _hit_ Florida as payback to Disney World for treating gay people like actual humans? The hurricane went off course and nailed Robertson’s HQ in North Carolina instead. It made me seriously rethink my agnosticism. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5ac83/32.png) [@BF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BF)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106/15 "2003-09-17T14:58:27Z")
> [@](#): > > nailed Robertson’s HQ in North Carolina instead That would be Chesapeake, VA. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106/16 "2003-09-17T15:44:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*\*Didn’t Robertson once pray for a hurricane to _hit_ Florida as payback to Disney World for treating gay people like actual humans? > > The hurricane went off course and nailed Robertson’s HQ in North Carolina instead. It made me seriously rethink my agnosticism. 😃 \*\* True. Probably my favorite story in the “what happens when you tell God what to do” category. Actually, this has two effect, both good: 1. If Isabel does veer off to sea, that’s obviously a good thing. 2. If it doesn’t, Pat is exposed as a false prophet to all the faithful who have been listening to him. Do be sure to point this out in religious arguments henceforth! ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106/17 "2003-09-17T15:45:48Z")
Thanks for the correction. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106/18 "2003-09-17T15:54:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Polycarp \* > \*\*2. If it doesn’t, Pat is exposed as a false prophet to all the faithful who have been listening to him. Do be sure to point this out in religious arguments henceforth! \*\* If only. The religious haven’t been affected by the failure of prayers since before the first paleolithic hunter didn’t get a good kill even though he painted a _really_ nice buffalo on the cave wall. There’s always plenty of excuses, with the final one being the hoary “God moves in mysterious ways.” ---
**Author:** ![Isabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5a626/32.png) [@Isabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isabelle)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106/19 "2003-09-17T16:07:33Z")
Although I don’t like Pat I must say in his defense that I don’t think there is anything wrong praying to God and asking for anything whether it is to pay a bill, heal a child, mend a relationship or even the weather. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106/20 "2003-09-17T16:13:25Z")
There’s nothing wrong with praying for the storm to move off to see (other than the fact that prayers to a non-existent god are a waste of your time). What’s wrong is that should the storm veer off Robertson will then _take credit_ for it, using it to bilk more dollars out of gullible fools. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-isabel-worries-pat-robertson-to-the-rescue/202106.md?page=2)