Beck: “I'm Not Not Saying” God Is Causing Earthquakes

Note: This has been updated from its original version to include more from Beck's rant.

Following a lengthy discussion involving the Japanese earthquake, bond markets, unrest in Libya, and a man who was killed trying to photograph the tsunami in California, Glenn Beck lamented that we “can't see the connections here.”

Beck said that he's “not saying God is, you know, causing earthquakes,” then clarified that he is “not not saying that, either,” then added: “Whether you call it Gaia, or whether you call it Jesus, there's a message being sent and that is, 'hey, you know that stuff we're doing? Not really working out real well.' Maybe we should stop doing some of it.”

Earlier in the discussion, Beck said, “I'm not saying that Jesus is coming, I'm just saying things are changing. The world, I mean literally, the world is moving under your feet. I mean, could there be a bigger sign than -- oh, by the way, I mean, in casual conversation somebody said, 'did you hear the earth moved off its axis?' No.”

His co-host added, “Japan moving eight feet is astounding.”

[Starts at ~12:32]

BECK: We can't see the connections here. Now look, I'm not saying God is, you know, causing earthquakes. Well -- I'm not saying that he -- I'm not not saying that either.

God -- what God does is God's business, I have no idea. But I'll tell you this: whether you call it Gaia or whether you call it Jesus -- there's a message being sent. And that is, 'Hey, you know that stuff we're doing? Not really working out real well. Maybe we should stop doing some of it.' I'm just sayin'. And -- yesterday I got home and I was thinking about all the messages that I could bring in, all the things that I could tell ya, and oh I've got stuff on Hezbollah. Oh, I have stuff on radical Islam in America that'll make your eyes fall out. Or I could just tell you the answer, and the answer is: Buckle up. Buckle up, 'cause it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Make sure you keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times. Because, things are gonna get bumpy and, just a few reminders there at the beginning as this rollercoaster takes off, always a good safety tip: Keep your arms and legs in. Don't do anything stupid, what do you say we follow the big top ten. You can call them Moses' ten commandments, or ten rules of thumb. What do you say we start doing those things? Because the things we are doing really suck and they're not getting better.

Beck's comment is the latest in a long line of religious zealots pointing to various natural disasters as evidence of God's displeasure with humanity.

His comments put him in the same league with people like Pat Robertson, who claimed in the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti last year that Haiti “swore a pact to the devil” and has “been cursed” ever since.

In 2005, Robertson and other religious conservatives claimed Katrina was God's punishment for America's alleged sins.

In comments on Robertson's show in 2001, Rev. Jerry Falwell suggested that gays, lesbians, feminists, and others bore responsibility for the 9-11 terrorist attacks (he later apologized):

FALWELL: I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen

It's not clear which “stuff” Beck is referring to that “we” are doing that is supposedly making “God” upset -- nor is it clear why Beck thinks God (or “Jesus” or “Gaia”) chose to devastate Japan as a result of this.

Though he denies that he thinks the Biblical Apocalypse is imminent, Beck has regularly featured and promoted guests who focus on end times eschatology. Last month he hosted author Joel Richardson, a self-proclaimed prophet who thinks Islam will be the “primary vehicle” “used by Satan to fulfill the prophecies of the Bible.” For his part, in a column at WorldNetDaily, Richardson has pointed to recent earthquake activity as “pointing to the soon coming of the return of Jesus.”