Before Pat Robinson shoots off his mouth again, I'd like to make it clear that common Christian beliefs do not accept the idea that Hurricane Katrina is somehow divine punishment for Mardi Gra or Bourbon Street. This concept seems acceptable at first but it is flawed but not for the reason you might think.
First glance gives credence to the idea of holy wrath. First, it is certainly within the power and authority of God to administer such punishment. Both the Old Testament and Revelation confirm this power. Second, if God were to exact such wrath it would in no way be unjust. God's justice is perfect and we can not be the judge of His actions. Similarly the punishment of 'innocent' people does not make the action unjust. Third, the sins of New Orleans are certainly worthy of such punishment. The wages of sin are death and few can argue with the presence of sin in this city (or any other city, town, nation or person for that matter).
Why then can I say that Katrina is not God's judgment on Mardi Gra and such? First, if God was trying to wipe out the sin, he missed. The French Quarter was one the areas that faired the best in the onslaught of the hurricane. So if we say that God was punishing He would be ineffective. This is impossible. Second, in Scripture there is clear warning to cities and peoples before God uses natural disaster. Think of Sodom or the Tribulation? God used Lot and will use the 144,000 witnesses to warn His intended targets of destruction with clear command to repent. No such call for repentance was made. So if we say that God was punishing He would be inconsistent. This, too is impossible. Third, now is not the time for divine judgment. When we read the Bible we can easily see that God acts in different ways at different times. In the Old Testament God acted through a singular nation and today He acts through His Church. Simply put, God is not in 'destroy' mode right now. He has been and will be but is not presently.
So what can we learn Katrina? In a way Katrina was punishment for sin, but not for New Orleans'. Hurricanes, tsunamis and other natural disasters are the result of the Fall. When Adam and Eve ate that apple they brought destruction and death into the world. Sin is serious stuff.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Acts of God or sins of humanity?
by Wes Granberg-Michaelson
From a vacation cottage Karin and I watched on TV as the desolation unfolded in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Through that agonizing week we sat helpless with millions, while the world's most technologically powerful nation could not provide food, water, and rescue to fellow citizens whose desperate faces filled our screen and haunted our consciences.
Commentators described Hurricane Katrina as a "natural disaster," or at times as an "act of God," like language used in some insurance policies describing events beyond human control. It means no one is liable. Except, of course, God. And that's what troubles me. How can a God of love, Creator of all that is, be responsible for such terrible, destructive disasters?
But as I listened, reflected, and prayed during that week, another question emerged. Just how "natural" was this disaster? Consider this, for instance. When Katrina left the Florida coast, it was classified as a "tropical storm" - not even a hurricane. It picked up tremendous power as it passed through the Gulf of Mexico, in part, experts think, because the waters of the Gulf were two degrees warmer than normal. So by the time it reached New Orleans, it was a category four hurricane.
Years before becoming general secretary of the Reformed Church in America, I led a group studying global warming and the responsibility of the churches for preserving the environment when I served as director of Church and Society for the World Council of Churches. Even then (1990), a clear global scientific consensus warned that global warming due to human causes - especially the accelerated use of fossil fuels - was causing disruptive climate changes. And I clearly remember listening to scientists say that one effect could be that storms such as hurricanes would increase in their intensity and destructive effects because of warmer waters and changing sea levels. So a part of Katrina's fury was not completely "natural."
And there's more. New Orleans was built between the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, with much of the city below sea level. Its vulnerability to flooding from hurricanes was partly protected by the wetlands between the city and the Gulf. These act like a "speed bump," absorbing and lowering some of a hurricane's force. But they've been disappearing, making way for shopping malls, condos, and roads, so 25 square miles are lost each year - an area the size of Manhattan. And the city has kept moving closer to the Gulf.
Moreover, the levees and dams constructed to protect the city and "control" the Mississippi deprive the wetlands from the sediments and nutrients that naturally would replenish its life. There's a lot "unnatural" about this "act of God."
And then, consider the victims. Those who have suffered the most are the poorest, and most of them are black. Twenty-seven percent of New Orleans residents lived below the poverty line, and many of those simply had no cars, or no money, and no way to leave. That also isn't "natural." The poverty rate, and the gap between rich and poor, continues to increase in this nation, and that is a national disgrace. More to our point, that's a sin, condemned by literally hundreds of verses of scripture. Those most vulnerable to Katrina have been kept on society's margins by persistent economic injustice and racism.
I celebrate the tides of compassion flowing in the wake of Katrina. Organizations such as Church World Service and the Salvation Army bear the compassion of Christ to the desolate, homeless, and hopeless. And I still don't fully understand why, in the providence of a loving and all-powerful God of creation, things like hurricanes and earthquakes happen.
But I do know this. When I see the devastating effects of Katrina, I don't simply regard these as an inexplicable "act of God." I also focus on the sins of humanity. We've disobeyed God's clear biblical instructions to preserve the integrity of God's good creation, and to overcome the scourge of poverty. In the aftermath of Katrina, we desperately need not only compassion, but also repentance.
Wes Granberg-Michaelson is general secretary of the Reformed Church in America. Reprinted from the Church Herald, October 2005. (c) 2005 by the Church Herald, Inc. Used with permission. Another version of this article will appear in the print version of the October 2005 Church Herald and on the Church Herald Web site herald.rca.org.
Between Katrina and Rita, I would say at the very least people could read a divine hint into the weather... mainly don't live 6 feet below sea-level, especially when you have an ocean, river and a lake on 3 sides.
I do not feel that this is God's wrath, however, it is some good previews of what the Almighty is able to do, and I'm glad I'll be missing the Tribulation.
Sadly, this is part of a natural cycle of weather in the gulf. With Katrina and Rita both being Cat 5 storms I felt it was wise to check into how often has that happened. In the last 50 years it has happened 4 times. That to me shows that this is not all that uncommon. Rita and Katrina were both small in comparison to Hurrican Dog and Camella, which had winds of 190 to 200 MPH.
When it comes to our planet, the simple truth is man cannot, and could not destory it, even if we all tried. We could end all life as we know it, but the planet would bounce back. Not to say that whenever God wants to he could come back and change everything.
Post a Comment