Hundreds of years ago, our country was settled by refugees from England, escaping the tyranny of a state-imposed religion. They came to the New World where they could practice their religion free from persecution. It was such an important notion to the authors of the Constitution that they specifically included language in the Bill of Rights allowing every citizen to practice their own religion. That freedom - when mixed with self-delusion, ego, and what could certainly pass as schizophrenia has people declaring that God has spoken to them directly, and passing that message along as though they were God's own mouthpiece.

In particular, three of the current Republican presidential candidates have said that God told them to run for president. Did God accidentally "reply all" to the prayers? Is it possible that they just need some medication to clear up the voices in their heads? Michelle Bachmann has a history of being confused (she thinks it's possible to eliminate all taxes). Herman Cain may have misread his company's billboards, thinking "GodFather's Pizza" meant "God, Father... please run" (or he may have seen one of these, from yet another group that deigns to speak for God). And Santorum? Well - I'm guessing God just wants him to run down someone's leg (if you don't get that joke, just google "Santorum"... go ahead - I'll wait).

Even Rick Perry has jumped on the "Gold told me to run" bandwagon. I know if it was me, I'd take the withering drought, out of control wildfires, and record-breaking murders by the state (ie: death penalty executions) as signs that God is looking upon me favorably (not). Those prayers for rain - how did that work out?

There have been others that claimed to know God's will. The apocolyptic "End Times" cult that is an unfortunately sizeable chunk of the Christian believers is constantly looking for signs of the Rapture. While street corner preachers and satirical cartoons often display "The End is Near", we used to treat those people as off their rockers. Television and radio, however, has allowed some of these heretics to proclaim to know what the Bible specifically says they cannot. Harold Camping's recent proclamation which failed to materialize as predicted is only one such example. There are also more well known members of the clergy like Pat Robertson and Oral Roberts and Jerry Falwell who speak to large flocks and claim to have a direct line to the Almighty.

The danger is what the believers will do in the face of such certainty. The claims by Harold Camping got hundreds of people to give away all their possessions, empty their retirement accounts, etc., assuming that the certainty of his words were Divine incarnate. They were not. They were the words of a scheister, or a delusional man, one step removed from the likes of Son of Sam, allowing himself to wallow in his own shallow needs and using a higher power as the excuse.

Ultimately, that is crux of the problem. When our actions are ordained by God Himself, then we abdicate responsibility. Should one of these "chosen" candidates win, then it will be perceived by that person (and others) as being because they are favored by God, and those that believe such things will be willing to do (or accept) nearly anything as part of the deal. Naturally, some (if not all) of those claiming Divine aspiration will not win, and it will be chocked up as "God's Will", and "God has other plans", and "God works in mysterious ways". Of course - right now they believe those ways are not so mysterious.

The original pilgrims understood the power of belief and the power of religion. They also understood that when combined with government, the law of the land becomes the Word of God, and those Words are in the hands of the political leaders. It's why the separation becomes so important. Political power - in the hands of those who believe they are on God's speed dial list - is a dangerous thing, in the form of their absolutism, and the blind faith of those who believe as well.

Beware those who claim to hear the voice of God, for they may be simply mad. They are at least incorrect, and possibly devious.