Dear Neil deGrasse Tyson and Joy Behar, Prayer Can Stop Bullets and God Does Speak

This past week, planetarium director and ersatz television science commentator Neil deGrasse Tyson responded to the recent school shooting in Florida with the following "tweet",

"Evidence collected over many years, obtained from many locations, indicates that the power of Prayer is insufficient to stop bullets from killing school children."

Having followed research in prayer and survival in medical illness for many years, a reasonable conclusion might be that prayers do not appear to change the usual course of disease, but this should not lead one to deny God's documented ability to do so (see the Acts of the Apostles). Likewise, one should not deny God's ability to stop a bullet or even an artillery shell in response to prayer. Just ask any soldier who has been in a situation in which they prayed for just that. The power of prayer is in the faith it shows to an almighty Lord, and faith can move mountains. By praying to God in the name of Jesus, we don't always get what we want. After all Jesus taught us to pray, "Thy will be done" and not, "My will be done."

The answers to our prayers may be miraculous healings, or rescue from peril, but clearly these things do not always happen. God's plans for us are mysterious.

But what about hearing a direct response from God when we pray?

I can recall several points in my life when I prayed for direction and God seemed to point me towards my career, my future spouse, my relocations, my church, my opportunities to serve, and starting and maintaining this blog.

And I distinctly remember a couple of occasions when I heard a voice in response to my prayers. Unfortunately, the voice was just one word, and that word was in a language that I could not understand.

So what does one make of "comedienne" Joy Behar who believes that anyone who listens for Jesus' voice and hears it is mentally ill?

“The View” co-hosts mocked Vice President Pence’s Christian faith last week, disrespecting the former governor of Indiana for speaking with Jesus and even suggesting he has a “mental illness.” the comments made by “The View” co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Joy Behar, according to the MRC.  Hostin said it’s “interesting” that former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault Newman recently said that Pence talks to Jesus and believes Jesus tells him things. Hostin said she is a “faithful” Catholic but doesn’t want her vice president “speaking in tongues.” Behar then said, “It’s one thing to talk to Jesus. It’s another thing when Jesus talks to you… that’s called mental illness.” “The View” addressed the controversy on Thursday and Behar didn’t exactly apologize.
“I don’t mean to offend people but apparently I keep doing it,” she said. “It was a joke.”

I am not sure if what Omarosa claims is actually what Vice President Pence believes, but the question for us is this, does Jesus speak to people directly at times, and what should we do with people who make such claims. It is no laughing matter as Ms. Behar would have us to believe. Should we label them as mentally ill, should we blindly accept their claims, or should we test their claims against the words of scripture?

For me, it is the latter.

Of course you probably won't be listening for God if you waste your time listening to Tyson or Behar.

The one thing these comments from Neil deGrasse Tyson and Joy Behar have in common is that they communicate to their audience a terrible sin, an all too common sin in this day and age, and that is the sin of denying God's omnipotence. Perhaps they should try praying for forgiveness. I know that if they do pray in the name of Jesus, their sins will be forgiven.