Hurricane Katrina: God's Punishment for a 'Wicked' City?
Wednesday August 31, 2005
A reader writes: Is it true that Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans on a day that was to observe "Southern Decadence Day" with 100,000 homosexuals gathering to commit unspeakable acts in public?
In a word, no. Despite the fact that some fundamentalist Christians appear eager to characterize the disaster as "God's judgment" on the "wicked" city of New Orleans, and despite their attempt to link its timing to a gay celebration held there annually, the claims are patently absurd:
Poll: Do you think Hurricane Katrina could be God's way of punishing New Orleans for sin? 1) Yes 2) No 3) Not sure
More About:
Gays Blamed for Hurricane Katrina - Coverage by Gay Life Guide Ramon Johnson
Hurricane Katrina Stirs Up Controversy - Response from Christianity Guide Mary Fairchild
In a word, no. Despite the fact that some fundamentalist Christians appear eager to characterize the disaster as "God's judgment" on the "wicked" city of New Orleans, and despite their attempt to link its timing to a gay celebration held there annually, the claims are patently absurd:
- The hurricane struck on Monday, August 29. This year's Southern Decadence, sometimes called the "Gay Mardi Gras," was scheduled to open today, Wednesday the 31st, and continue through Sunday. The storm obviously did not strike on "the day" of the celebration. Many, perhaps most, of the revelers had not even arrived yet.
- Southern Decadence is a 35-year-old tradition in New Orleans. Why did God choose to wait till 2005 to "punish" the city for it?
- Why is the French Quarter, the district where the event (now canceled) was to be held, one of the least devastated parts of the city so far?
- If this tragedy occurred because God is angry at New Orleans, what was the point of the awful devastation and loss of life wrought in Mississippi and Alabama?
Poll: Do you think Hurricane Katrina could be God's way of punishing New Orleans for sin? 1) Yes 2) No 3) Not sure
More About:
Comments
Katrina was not God’s punishment for sin. The Bible says the whole earth trevails for the coming of the Lord. The earth is trevailing. And, as sin increases in areas, it opens the door to destruction as nature revolts. There are laws at work. The asian Tsunami was not God’s punishment for sin. The wickedness and perversion in the area (child trafficking and child prostition, among other things)became so rampant that nature revolts.
Well, if you read the poll numbers for this story a 93% (111782) people believe that Katrina would be God’s punishment upon New Orleans. If that many people believe it, and we influence events around us, then enough people believing it and influencing the whether does not require an outside act of God to cause it. Maybe we are doing it to ourselves to learn something. 1) That what we think and believe matters 2) That behavior that is seen as decadant by the majority can be risky and 3) It’s not very smart to build up alot of infrastructure along any ocean shoreline.
Katrina could not have hit New Orleans as punishment for their sin because Katrina DID NOT hit New Orleans. They were on the weak side of the storm. MS/LA stateline is where Katrina hit…and destroyed total cities in MS. In Pascagoula, homes had water on the second floors. But, okay, because of all the coverage, MS got the assistance they would not have gotten had the levees not failed.