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Pat Robertson said that God was punishing Sharon by sending him a stroke. We are, of course, horrified. What a cruel thing to say!

Then again, it's in the same logical category as something that's said every day, broadcast on TV regularly, and so on. "... and I thank God for helping us win this game." Which is equivalent to "I thank God for making sure my opponents lost the game." Which means God's making choices about who wins and who loses. He's gotta choose sides there.

Maybe it's more reasonable to claim that God is making choices about relatively unimportant things like sporting events. But... the culture accepts the idea that God reaches down and affects the outcome of everyday events. We don't object when an athlete makes that claim. We ought not be surprised when that claim shows up in other arenas.