Leave it to Pat to use the latest tragedy to spew his twisted version of Christianity. Yes, it's the fault of the people who live in Tornado Alley that their homes get hit by tornadoes. Of course, Tornado Alley actually takes up a large part of the central part of our country, leaving one to wonder where Pat thinks people should live, if you include his lumping in earthquakes and floods. I'm not sure if there are any places that are completely free of natural disasters, but if there are, I am sure that we couldn't fit everyone into it.
Funny that Pat's rant ignores Bible passages like Genesis 18, 23-32:
3 Then Abraham came near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” 26 And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” 27 Abraham answered, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 Again he spoke to him, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 31 He said, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 32 Then he said, “Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”
What a cruel, cold-hearted thing to say to people suffering loss, that they didn't pray enough. "Oh, sorry your brother died of cancer. Guess you should have spent more time in church and less time at his bedside." "Well, if you didn't want your company to outsource your job to India, you should have prayed a lot harder."
The problem of "why do bad things happen to good people" is a question most religious people are confronted with at some point and certainly one that ministers will need to answer for their parishioners. But telling them "It's your own fault" - even if someone's tragedy is their own fault, what kind of a monster says that to someone who is suffering? That's not tough love, that's sadism, and it's contemptible talk coming from someone who claims to be a minister of God.