Televangelist Jim Bakker declared on his television program last week that last month’s train derailment in Washington state was God’s punishment for disobeying Trump.
“What do you think that train going off the tracks in Washington state was?” he asked, rhetorically. “What is the spiritual side? Why is it right now, at this time of the year?”
Noting that the train was on its maiden voyage on a new stretch of track, the pro-Trump pastor likened the derailment to the sinking of the Titanic, which apparently made it spiritually significant.
“The great preachers of all times have said the Titanic is God’s warning,” Bakker said, “and I believe—here again, one of the fast new trains, brand new, crashed off the tracks on its maiden voyage—people, you had better listen to what is going on.”
I am always loathe to cast doubt on your interpretations of what the Almighty might actually be trying to tell us via naturally occurring disasters, or matters predicated on chance and happenstance. But, this one time, I’m sorry but I must.
I’ve read the Bible from cover to cover twice (as well as delved extensively into certain specific topics), so that I am comfortable saying that I am reasonably conversant with its messages. I know of no passage where God deliberately harms or kills one group of individuals in order to teach another group a lesson.