A Colorado school was shut down on Thursday after a local woman called 911 and informed the dispatcher that her relatives were going to shoot children in the building.

It was early in the day, but Paradox Valley School quickly went into lockdown mode. Buses were rerouted. Parents were told not to bring their kids to school if they hadn’t done so already. Classes were later canceled.

But the San Miguel Sheriff’s Office in Telluride soon issued a public statement deeming the threat to be a hoax. How did they know? Because the caller informed them that her “tip” came from God.

Upon immediate investigation, the woman told authorities she received the information from “a personal conversation with God,” and the threat was determined NOT to be credible. … The woman is being detained and will be evaluated by mental health professional.

I’m glad this was nothing more than a false alarm, but it’s disturbing as all hell that someone called the cops with a serious threat based on voices in her head. And before you dismiss her as a kook, realize that a lot of Christians claim to hear these same voices.

Case in point: Vice President Mike Pence was in the news last month after ex-White House staffer Omarosa Manigault Newman called him “extreme” for thinking “Jesus tells him to say things.” When The View‘s Joy Behar mocked him for that God, she was soon forced to apologize.

So which is it, Christians? Is the Colorado woman crazy or did she do the right thing by phoning in the threat? How do you know when God’s voice is telling you something useful or creating chaos? And if God had the power to send a warning to a relative, why wouldn’t God just stop the damn shooting Himself?

There’s something seriously wrong with people who believe God literally speaks to them, gives them advice, tells them how to act, or (in this case) tips them off about a potential school shooting.

This woman may be getting professional help. But plenty of other religious people who claim to have a direct line to God are not.

(Image via Shutterstock. Thanks to Dan for the link)

