Speaking for God

From the BBC: “Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling,” said Louisiana senator David Vitter after he was identified as associating with DC Madam Deborah Palfrey.

1. I really don’t care about the Senator’s sex life. 

2. I believe that Senator Vitter can be pretty sure of his wife’s level of forgiveness for whatever his “serious sin” was.  It’s not my business, anyway.

3. I am seriously annoyed about his — and other self-righteous conservatives’ — self-proclaimed ability to understand God’s thoughts, feelings, and desires.

What happened to the mysterious and occasionally frightening anthropomorphic God? When I was a child I perceived that even the best and most moral of people spent a good deal of time trying to divine God’s will and conform to it. They seemed to struggle with self-doubt even when they objectively were helping others and doing good.

Now there seems to be a direct line from heaven into the homes of a large number of reactionary Americans.  God regularly calls to reassure these lucky folks that He forgives their sins and smiles on their every action.  They are smugly sure of God’s approval of everything they do.  They advertise how they and God have chatted and how fulsomely God blesses their thoughts and deeds.

I think there is a warning written down somewhere about this type of hubris.  I just don’t remember where.