The 700 Club is a notorious fraud which has been foisted on the easily deluded and naive for years. But, because Pat Robertson and his minions claim to speak for Jesus, people tune in and send them mega-bucks year after year which allows him to continue to spread his religious poison around the world. It also makes him, in a sense, untouchable, no matter how off-the-wall he becomes.
He has, in fact, had the ear of our presidents, and has held a revered place in the halls of the religious right and has even gained the respect of certain Jewish groups because of his feigned concern for Israel. I say "feigned" concern, because it should be obvious that he isn't concerned for Israel or the Jewish people for themselves, but because they play an important role in Robertson's deranged end-times scenario.
Here's an example of what oozes out of CBN and the 700 Club.
This "amazing" story derives from CBN.com. It's about a mand named Ray Hayworth who was doing very well in life, thank you, until one day he discovered a lump in his neck. It was cancer. Not just one, "but two types of cancer: carcinoma and melanoma."
Ray and his wife, Billie, were distraught. "Billie said, 'At night I would lay my hands on his neck and he'd be sleeping away. And I would say, "Satan, how dare you! How dare you come against us like this! Greater is He, God, who is in us!" and I would just yell out, "I command you in the name of Jesus, you get off, you get off of his neck."'"
Everybody started praying for Ray and Billie. Well, not everybody, but you know what I mean.
Guess what? Yup. The cancer disappeared! When the doctor told them the cancer was gone, Billie glanced at Ray and Ray "just raised his hands and said, 'thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus.'"
Three years later, Ray is still cancer-free.
"He says the Lord gave him a scripture that signifies God's amazing power. "'Be still and know that I am God. That's my theme for the rest of my life,' said Ray.:
Now, it is wonderful that Ray is cancer-free. But there are some questions - big questions:
1. Why would God cure Ray of cancer and not everyone else who has cancer? Is Ray a better person, a better Christian than all the other people with cancer?
2. Did Satan cause Ray's cancer?
3. Was it Billie's laying on of hands and casting out Satan that did it?
4. If God loved Ray, why did He/She allow Ray to get cancer in the first place. Being all-powerful, God certainly could have stopped the cancer in its tracks?
5. Does healing of cancer depend upon a certain laying on of hands, cries of "Get out Satan!" and lots of prayer?
6. How much prayer is enough? Did God not know of Ray's dilemma, or did it take prayer to remind him?
7. Why does a supposedly-loving God allow people to get cancer in the first place?
8. Why can God heal cancer and cannot heal an amputee? Have you ever heard of an amputee being healed by God?
Spontaneous remissions of certain diseases, while uncommon, are not unusual. In may cases, the body heals itself and the doctors are not certain why that is so.
To rely on prayer to manipulate a deity to cure oneself while ignoring the fact that millions of people the world over are also suffering from cancer, is obtuse and uncaring.
To think that there is a person called Satan who causes cancer is religious insanity.
To believe that one can "cast out" cancer by reciting words like "I command you, in the name of Jesus to get off his neck," is just the same as relying on the incantations of shamans and witches.
And that's the bottom line: Ray and Billie believed in magic. Magic, not God, cured Ray.
God doesn't care. Just take a look around. It's obvious.
7 comments:
Gasoline, Petroleum and the plastics made from it are the single largest cause of cancer in the world. This is a known fact, verified by thousands of studies which the oil industry counters by paying pundits to say: "Well, we just are not sure yet". Now are are sure. The TPH array in petroleum and petroleum products exists as microscopic particles which leach off of plastic materials, (ie: the plastic in water and baby bottles) and float in the air as vapor, (ie: the fumes around gas stations). These particles are absorbed into the body and broken down to a cellular level and then to a DNA level. As the DNA replicates, a constant process, these TPH materials cause the replication process to make mistakes and create genetic mutations. TPH is a very particular array of items so the "mistakes" that it causes occur as the same thing over and over. We call this repeating mistake: "cancer". Other materials in our environment cause other kinds of genetic mutations that do not manifest as onerous, or extremely negative, or obvious things. TPH manifests cancer.
The TPH chemical array has killed more Americans than every terrorist since the beginning of time.
The petrochemical bisphenol-a, or BPA, causes precancerous tumors and urinary tract problems and made babies reach puberty early.
Every gas pump has a label on it that oil and gas causes cancer and a host of lethal medical problems.
Archeologicial digs show that ancient peoples living near tar pits got cancer.
When there is an oil spill, you are not allowed on the beach because most agencies classify oil as toxic.
A study of childhook leukemia in England mapped every child with the diserase and found they all occurred in a circle, in the center of which was a gas station.
Living near a petrol station could quadruple the risk of childhood leukaemia, research suggested today.
The study in France found a link between cases of acute leukaemia among youngsters and how close they lived to a fuel station or a repair garage.
Research has already shown an association between adults' occupational exposure to benzene, a hydrocarbon derived from petrol, and leukaemia.
The latest study is published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The French Institute of Health and Medical Research based their findings on 280 cases of childhood leukaemia and a comparison group of 285 children.
They were drawn from four hospitals in Nancy, Lille, Lyon and Paris, with almost two-thirds of the children with leukaemia aged between two and six.
The team found no clear link between the mother's occupation during pregnancy or traffic levels around where they lived and the risk of child leukaemia.
They also saw no link between leukaemia and living near manufacturers using materials such as aluminium or plastic.
But a child whose home was near a garage was four times more likely to develop leukaemia than a child whose home was not.
The risk appeared to be even greater for acute nonlymphoblastic leukaemia, which was seven times more common among children living close to a petrol station or garage. The longer a child had lived there, the higher their risk of leukaemia appeared to be.
There are 6,600 cases of leukaemia a year in Britain. Although it is the most common form of childhood cancer, it affects three times as many adults as children.
The authors admit the findings could be due to chance. "But the strength of the association and the duration of the trend are arguments for a causal association."
Alberta’s oil sands are one of the world’s biggest deposits of oil, but the cost of extracting that oil may be the health of the people living around them. High levels of toxic chemicals and carcinogens have been found in the water, soil, and fish downstream of the oil sands. The local health authority of Fort Chipewyan, Alberta comissioned the study in response to locals’ claims that the oil extraction projects upstream were damaging the health of citizens. Petrochemicals and their byproducts, such as dioxin, are known to cause an array of serious health problems, including cancers and endocrine disruption.Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) is a term used to describe a large family of several hundred chemical compounds that originally come from crude oil. Crude oil is used to make petroleum products, which can contaminate the environment. Because there are so many different chemicals in crude oil and in other petroleum products, it is not practical to measure each one separately. However, it is useful to measure the total amount of TPH at a site.TPH is a mixture of chemicals, but they are all made mainly from hydrogen and carbon, called hydrocarbons. Scientists divide TPH into groups of petroleum hydrocarbons that act alike in soil or water. These groups are called petroleum hydrocarbon fractions. Each fraction contains many individual chemicals.
Some chemicals that may be found in TPH are hexane, jet fuels, mineral oils, benzene, toluene, xylenes, naphthalene, and fluorene, as well as other petroleum products and gasoline components. However, it is likely that samples of TPH will contain only some, or a mixture, of these chemicals. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has determined that one TPH compound (benzene) is carcinogenic to humans. IARC has determined that other TPH compounds (benzo[a]pyrene and gasoline) are carcinogenic to humans.
Benzene causes leukemia. Benzene as a cause of leukemia had documented since 1928 (1 p. 7-9). In 1948, the American Petroleum Institute officially reported a link between this solvent used in many of their industries used and cases of leukemia in their workers. Their findings concluded that the only safe level of benzene exposure is no exposure at all (2).
The largest breast cancer incidents are in Marin County, California which is tied to the air, water and ecosphere of the Chevron Oil refinery right next door.
The oil industries spend tens of millions of dollars on fake pundits and disinformation to make sure the above information is never known by the public. Cure Cancer: Stop oil. It is a national security need in more ways than one.
Here's one more question Jacob.
Was it really cancer at all, or was it a mis-diagnosis(they happen all too often)of a cyst that disappeared?
@ Grandpa Eddie: Who knows? The principal of the story says that it was - two different types.
My information, of course, came from at article put out by CBN/700 Club...so take that for what it's worth.
That's why I think it was a mis-diagnosis, being two different types in the same spot.
With the information coming from CBN/700 Club, the whole thing could be a ruse to suck more money outta grandma sitting at home with her bible on her lap.
When Satan cuts off someones arm, why won't God ever regenerate one?
@ Tommy - I don't know, Tommy. It sure would appear that Satan is in control! Maybe such a person would need to pray to Satan?
We have free choice. If someone insists u[on using God instead of science, allow them that option. It is their life to lose as long as they are convinced God wants them to live. Religious people have followed that course for centuries.
If they do no harm to others, allow them do as they see fit.
Personally, I think they take a tremendous risk but they are entitled to their belief. I do wonder if Pat Robertson uses doctors. He talks to God, so perhaps he has been assured of eternal life.
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