There are two types of communication with God in the world, no matter what your beliefs are. In one version, a person talks to their god through prayer, and may even say that God spoke to them and told them they should become a veterinarian, or devote their life to Xbox, or whatever. We usually accept this as normal. It’s typically metaphorical. The other version is when people claim that God told them to do something that the rest of the world would consider insane. These people are often mentally ill. More than one serial killer has claimed to be carrying out God’s word. With that in mind, here are 10 more people who, for better or worse, claimed to be acting on God’s orders.
10. 23-year cave excavations
Levon Arakelian had one job: digging a potato cellar for his wife. It seemed simple enough, and the Armenian took on the task. He began working in 1985 and did not finish for 23 years. Not because it was difficult to dig a potato cellar, but because he had a vision. He was told that he would perform a miracle, and even if he fell ill, so as not to be afraid, he would be brought to the end.
What Arakelian did was excavate a seven-story deep cave system beneath his home, all by hand with a hammer and chisel. It goes down 21 meters, has seven rooms, electricity, and a series of stone carvings made by Arakelian. It is now a museum. During the excavation, as word spread, neighbors brought him food to sustain him during the task, though he often chased them away for interrupting him.
Arakelian worked tirelessly on his task, saying that God had commissioned him to do it. He was working on the cave until the day he died at the age of 67. It is still a place you can visit if you go to Avan-Arinj in Armenia and ask to be taken to Levon's Divine Dungeon.
9. The world's largest ball of twine
More than one person has claimed to have made the world's largest ball of twine, but of course there are several ways to judge size. Does it mean the tallest? The heaviest? The longest if it were unrolled? The heaviest ball is said to be in Wisconsin and is the work of James Frank Kotera, also known as JFK.
In 2016, the ball weighed more than 20,000 pounds and was launched 37 years ago. It was 1979, when John F. Kennedy says he spoke to God. The Lord told him to stop drinking — and he admits he was drunk at the time — and take up twine instead. So, starting in 1979, he worked three days a week at a local dump, then spent another four bags of twine wrapping the ball.
8. New language
There are several “made-up” languages in the world that are still fully functional and can be learned well enough to hold a conversation. Klingon, Esperanto, and even Elvish are all languages that were intentionally created in recent memory. You may be less aware of a language called Volapük, created by retired priest Johann Martin Schleyer after God told him in 1879 to create a language that everyone in the world could speak.
It is considered the “oldest international auxiliary language,” which makes it somewhat unique, though still relatively rare. The language is largely based on English and French, but has never caught on. As for the reasons, they may be debatable, but you can find more than one website online mocking the fact that in Volapuk, the Lord’s Prayer begins with the line “O fat Obas.”
7. Collect money or die
Televangelism and greed have a long and storied history. You can probably find hundreds, if not thousands, of stories and articles about fraud, theft, and shady financial dealings online if you hunt for them. Jesse Duplantis told his flock that God needed him to have a $54 million private jet. He also once claimed that the reason Jesus hadn’t returned yet was because people weren’t giving enough money. So it seems there’s no depth to which some of these so-called men of God won’t stoop when it comes to lining their pockets. And what about Oral Roberts?
The famous televangelist made headlines in 1987 when he raised money for the university that bears his name. He told his congregation that he needed $8 million or God would call him home. In other words, God threatened to kill Oral Roberts unless people paid him $8 million. In some circles, this is called extortion and/or ransom.
Roberts made a career out of raising money through visions. He said he once saw an angel and then sold statues of him. He had a vision of a 900-foot-tall Jesus and raised money from it. He reportedly raised $9.1 million.
6. Temple in the form of an operating system
Do you know where God and technology intersect? For the most part, established religions have little to say about technology because technology was not a thing when these religions were first invented. When Christianity came on the scene, things like the wheel were still pretty revolutionary.
Terry Davis developed a way to combine God and technology after a programmer said he had spoken to God. The result was TempleOS.
After being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, Davis said he had several delusions about aliens and government agents. He moved in with his parents and says God came to him and told him to build a temple in the form of an operating system. He fully acknowledges that it sounds like another manifestation of his mental illness, but he doesn’t believe it is. It took him 10 years to build, and it’s still available today if you’re so inclined to talk to God through it.
5. End of slavery
Harriet Tubman’s legacy is one of great courage and compassion. She was one of the most important figures in the anti-slavery movement, and she personally helped many find freedom through the Underground Railroad. What’s less well known is how Tubman was motivated to do this work. For her, it was more than a sense of duty, more than what she needed to do for herself and her people. She was motivated by God.
Tubman herself was a slave for 30 years and suffered from serious health problems, including narcolepsy and migraines. These conditions may have played a remarkable role in the hero she became.
As a child, Tubman was attacked by an enslaver who demanded that she help restrain another slave. She refused, and the man ended up throwing a lead weight, which hit Tubman instead of the other slave.
Because she was a slave, she was not given medical care. It is believed that a head injury caused the conditions she suffered from, conditions that often included vivid hallucinations. She reported having numerous visions that she believed were from God.
She later said that God spoke to her not just once, but every day of her life. It was his guidance that helped her choose her path in life, and that included spending so much time helping to free the enslaved, even on dangerous missions when her poor health made the task even more risky for her. She believed that she had divine protection, and this, in turn, gave her the strength and courage to do what she did.
4. Continuing a career in the NFL
Reggie White was a force to be reckoned with in the NFL in the 1980s and '90s. The defensive end was a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and was second all-time in career sacks. He was also known for his devout religious beliefs, earning him the nickname "The Minister of Defense."
In 1998, White retired from the NFL after his 14th season. He had serious back problems and felt his time had come. He announced his retirement on a Sunday. Then he had back surgery on Monday, when he said God told him not to retire. He needed one more year to fulfill the contract he had signed despite his bad back. He had signed a contract the year before, which was for five years, of which he only had to serve two. He had promised to be out in the second year, so he decided to give it another try, although he was out for the 1999 season.
White eventually returned for the 2000 season, playing for the Carolina Panthers before retiring again when the season ended.
3. Dog Poop Cleaning Business
If you were to ask a priest, rabbi, or other theologian why any god would create humans in such a way that we need to excrete solid waste, aka poop, they might tell you that it's because that particular god wanted us to eat and be healthy, and that's part of the process. Fair enough.
Brian Hetzen, a janitor and founder of Disciples on Doody, said God spoke to him one day while he was cleaning a toilet. His mission? Spread the good word by cleaning up dog poop. He cleans yards and prays for dog families. Maybe not the most glorious of callings, but still useful. They're still in business, and the company was founded in 2006.
2. Giant Tower
Televangelist Rex Humbard's plan was to build a tower. The biggest tower imaginable, toward the end of spreading the word of God. He just needed $25 from each of his followers. Then he built a massive tower that would tower over Akron, Ohio, that would broadcast the gospel to countries around the world.
Humbard couldn't raise enough money for his vision. The tower was started, and they did a pretty decent job of it. Things like the revolving restaurant that was supposed to top it never materialized. What was supposed to reach over 750 feet stalled at 500 feet and earned the less-than-flattering nickname "Rex's Erection." It's been that way since 1971, when construction finished in just 22 days.
1. The world's largest tree house
Most kids love the idea of a tree house. It's a tree house; there's really nothing not to love. But there's a big difference between an ordinary tree house and one that Horace Burgess has been building for about 20 years.
Burgess, known as the "Treehouse Minister," claimed that God commissioned him to build the house in 1993. nails. It had 80 rooms, a wraparound porch, classrooms, bedrooms, and a kitchen. So it wasn't so much a treehouse as it was a treehouse.
The 10th floor was a penthouse, and inside there was an open space big enough for a basketball court and even a half-ton church bell. In 2012, the local fire department closed it down for violating local fire codes. That turned out to be a very good idea, as the structure later burned down in a fire that engulfed the entire building in just 15 minutes.
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