Judgment of a Wrathful God?

Also from Agapepress.org

Another superbly written treatise~~well worth the read...Thank you Mr. Friedeman.

In the Fight
God and Katrina

By Matt Friedeman
September 8, 2005

(AgapePress) - New Orleans City Council President Oliver Thomas has seen what Katrina has done to his city. "Maybe," he has noted, "God's going to cleanse us."

This columnist has talked to many serious Christians about the tragedy of Katrina and the devastation it has wrought on Mississippi and Louisiana. The camps of thought seem two: God doesn't do things like this; and, God may well have done it, given the "sin city" nature of New Orleans and the casino-blighted coastline of Mississippi.

It is most unpalatable, of course, to suggest divine wrath. But biblically there is such a thing, and to assume that such Godly interference with evil will never happen again in our "enlightened" age is folly. New Orleans, for one, was one formidable "sin city." To begin the litany of God-mockery is to wonder where to finally stop: the occult and voodoo, Mardi Gras and the annual Southern Decadence festival (basically a homosexual Mardi Gras), ten times the national average of murders, a reputation for the worst government corruption, casinos with their bribes of public officials, the famous Bourbon Street which has evolved into a long line of porn shops and strip joints, police officers so uncommitted as to join in recent looting, and a city heaving with crime.

Perhaps it is just coincidence, but "Katrina" comes from the Greek which means "purity." New Orleans could use some of that.

It now has a tremendous opportunity.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour has done an extraordinary job, unlike his Louisiana counterpart, of providing leadership and hope to the people of Mississippi in these post-Katrina days even as the coast of his state resembles, in his words, "Hiroshima." He has said that Mississippi will return to be "bigger and better" than before.

Today, we who are further north in the state are concerned with the suffering of the coast dwellers and their rising from the rubble. Mississippians are a tough lot; they will, indeed, arise. But eventually, there needs to be a discussion on the "better" part of the "bigger and better" equation.

The casinos are today gutted of activity and need to rebuild to have a future. The first item of the gamblers' agenda this legislative session will be to coordinate a statewide effort to get those casinos land-based instead of resting on water. If "bigger and better" means to automatically grant them this request and thus engrave the practice of gambling further into the state's collective psyche, then I wonder if the state will miss out on a great opportunity. It should be noted that if the casinos can't be land-based, many of them may well leave altogether.

One would hope that, when thinking in terms of "better," morality would be the first thing to come to mind and not an afterthought to the tax revenue casinos purport to bring to the state's coffers.

God is speaking. Whether He caused the hurricane or not makes for interesting theological discussion, but this columnist for one will not speak for Him. Even so -- He is definitely speaking. And as we bow in humility and worship before the Almighty and ask for His revelation, do we hear His voice articulating that we should go back to decadence in New Orleans and casinos in Mississippi?

Here's hoping that we are not that deaf. Or, that stupid.

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Response To Convergent:

Personally, I too think it is not worth rebuilding the city in the same area. That entire area should revert to shipping only. If the city is to be rebuilt, why not build a new one further inland. But people just love living by the water! It is soooooo gorgeous. So, when something this horrible and devastating happens, we really cannot profess ignorance.

Galveston also has built their seawalls in hopes that the 1900 storm can never happen again. I know they have had some cat.3's in recent years but since I no longer live on the coast myself and do not have a tv~~all my news comes via internet~~I have not kept up with the hurricane season myself. I do remember the anxiety of it though~especially when active. While the sea wall is an excellent effort, we just never know. But I can't blame Holland for trying as they are very similar to New Orleans in that they are a low lying land.

I don't believe in predestination per se. I do believe God when he told Jeremiah that He knew him in his mother's womb. God can say that about each of us. But, He has given us free will to choose. Sometimes, I know, I wonder what my life would have been like if I had chosen door a instead of b or turned left instead of right!

I do believe, however, that Jesus came as the fulfillment of the O.T.
I am going to look for the book you mentioned. I am always reading and looking for new material to read. Thank you for mentioning it!

And thank you for taking the time to read my blog and commenting!

Have a wonderful life.

sincerely,
conservativebynature

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