They believed in God, so where was He when they needed Him?

Question

I'm referring to the people of New Orleans. The majority of them believed (and still believe) that God was protecting them. So why didn't he?

Edsawyer, thanks for your response -- I hesitated for weeks about asking this precisely because I had some idea of the responses I'd get and how disheartening they would be. Hearing from you makes it worth while.

Taogent, that's a good and timely point.

Gravesendian, I'm as baffled as you are, believe me.

Donna -- so he didn't save them precisely because they trusted him to save them? Okay, it's official, I'm completely confused.

Holding out for more answers....

Answer 1

Thank you very much for asking this question as it allows us to see the true natiure of the Christian believer. Look at these cold-hearted answers:

"Most sat on their *** when they should have gotten out of there": here we have a person who has presumably never lived anywhere near a natural catastrophe blindly passing judgement on those who tragically lost their lives. The implication here is that nobody was caught or stranded and that, in a sense, they had it coming. This is human compassion.

"God didn't send the hurricane; Satan did": here we have the classic argument: that which is good is the work of God, that which is bad is the work of the Devil. God, who the Bible repeatedly states can control the world however he wants, chose this time to sit back and allow the Devil to do his thing. Even more amazing, those who did survive were saved by God. Those who didn't, for reasons I guess we cannot know, thus weren't.

"Not all of the people are dead, so obviously He helped them": again, here we have a God arbitrarily picking-and-choosing. One wonders if he just threw darts at a dartboard to decide who should perish, leaving their loved ones to mourn, and who should be saved. One might be reminded at this time that innocent babies were among the dead.

"God gave them brains and feet to run with": again, apparently those who died were not using their God-given brains. I dearly truly hope that none of the people who have answered here are met with a natural catastrophe. I, for my part, would never dare to blame their demise on their own lack of thinking...

"He was with those people but maybe they did something wrong": arrogance! Do you know anything of the minds of those people who died? How many of them had been good citizens, maybe even good Christians? How many of them were innocent babies with no way to protect themselves?

"If one prays, God can easily divert or stop the hurricane": natural disasters are caused because people don't pray. or, alternately, God could have stopped the hurricane, but just decided not to because not enough people were praying... Divine justice and mercy...

"Do you also blame the police for not stopping every crime?": well, or course not, for we can recognise that the police are fallible and not all-powerful. The analogy does not fit at all because the God that many of those people believed in is all-powerful... but sometimes chooses not to use that power.

"God never strikes a place without warning its people first": this wins hands-down for most arrogant and crude response yet. The number of people who die tragically in natural disasters is all but incalculable. The suggestion here is that God is repeating his Sodom-and-Gomorrah trick countless times a year and people are just too deaf to hear. Additionally, the people who died in New Orleans were the ones who "embraced witchcraft and celebrated lewdness" - or perhaps this person believes that _all_ people in New Orleans were/are lewd witches. The tragedy of this lack of compassion is that it implies, somehow, that the writer's good luck never to have been hit by a natural disaster somehow makes him more righteous than other people.

Note that all of the above is from a 'Christian' point of view... It's enough to make you cry.

Answer 2

People do not understand that this life is not what is the main concern of God, this is such a trivial part of our existence. God will have a place ready for all those who did and will go to him after this life is over. God does not mean you live in a fairy land, but God will help you through this world. What humans take as evil (death) is not evil, it is a part of existence. Why would you look for something to save you from the trials in this world? Without them you would not be the person you are today. Everyone suffers because we are taught from the day we are born what we should view as tragic and what we should not. That is all point of view as to whether it is bad or or evil or whatnot. I congratulate all the people of New Orleans for living and moving on with life without sitting around feeling sorry for themselves!! Way to show the world that you are stronger than the crap that goes on in this world.

Answer 3

I have an interesting parallel for you. Remember your US history. The Europeans conquered the Native Americans. The Native Americans, on the one hand, had their own religion. (The Great Spirit, etc). Meanwhile, the Europeans were Christians - a tradition that also had its moment of persecution in history (under Rome).
It appears convincing on the surface when people point to here and now events as evidence that God specially takes the side of one people or group. People have had stories since the stone-age that make God into a partial and prejudiced character. The truth is, to anyone who bothers to look at history, the theory is always disproven. Sooner or later, all things submit to Heaven's mandate. No empire lasts forever. Sooner or later, the levi breaks and "Gods favorite people" get covered in poop.

Answer 4

They believed in God, so where was He when they needed Him?

God keeps all who are his. He never leaves nor forsakes. because the world is wicked there will come a day God will judge the world.

Do you also blame the Police for not stopping every crime or the Govt. for not stopping terrorists? The difference between God's and the world's protection is God can and will bring an end to Evil. It has been judged already.

Pray for those who have suffered and Help to rebuild. show your Love and mercy by helping instead of blaming God for Evil. Look at the situation and see how much God's people are helping; ministering to the needs of our fellow man.

Answer 5

I believe that the true answer is that nothing fails like prayer. Asking for favors from imaginary super-beings is no substitute for anything really. It's just stupid and infantile.
After reading Edsawyers answer (which gets my vote for best answer) I can only say that I agree, and that the type of callousness shown by these answers is exactly what I would expect from 'good christians'.
I dumped the christian religion ten years ago, mostly because of heartless fanatics with boot-licking attitudes like those shown in some of the answers to your question.
I don't believe in any god, but why do they worship a god that is so completely evil? Defending their god's behavior is like defending a drunken psychopathic father, who abuses his family and then claims that 'they deserved it because they were bad.' It's truly sickening.

Answer 6

Because "he" doesn't exist. You're right, millions of people prayed for protection, and got nothing. Even if they didn't die, they lost their homes, property, pets, businesses, etc.

Of course, the christian apologists will just say, "it's god's will -- nobody can understand god's plan." If so, what's the point in praying for anything? If god has a plan that won't be deviated from, things are going to happen the way they happen and can't be changed, so why pray for anything?

Just another of the illogical, inane bs that believers put out an an attempt to justify their belief in something that doesn't exist. None of it makes any sense, it's all contradictions, and doesn't make any difference in the real world. If god does exist, which I doubt, he certainly doesn't do anything of any consequence on this planet, and so is not worth praying to or worshipping.

Answer 7

He did protect them. God gave them brains, and feet to run with. Things just happen. I am a strong believer that things happen for a reason and even though we may not be able to tell yet what this reason is, God knows. Because he knows everything. Besides hello, the foundation that New Orleans was built on was terrible! But they are rebuilding it so that this never happens again, but whos to say that it wont?

Answer 8

This is coming from a Pagan point-of-view here:

Just because you believe in God doesn't protect you from catastrophe. Katrina wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for global warming and pollution. Global warming is melting the ice caps, and polar animals are dying because over-heating, thus upsetting the delicate balance the earth holds. Katrina was inevitable.

It's not God's fault, it's ours because we're not living in harmony with nature.

Answer 9

God does not choose us. He needs us a loves us. He created us the for a similar causes we create issues. For some thing to love and love you decrease back. mom and father have youthful ones for a similar reason. They comprehend that elevating youthful ones isn't undemanding and that there'll be a impressive form of heartache and soreness and some undesirable situations in spite of the undeniable fact that that's properly worth going throught that. the affection you've for them and the affection that's go back is spectacular and assisting mold yet another human existence and education them and nurturing them and gazing them enhance is properly worth each and each and every of the turmoil contained in the international even if sometime they reject you. that's an same for God He would not choose us yet He positive does favor to love us and help us even as quickly as we turn antagonistic to Him.

Answer 10

#1. They were warned in plenty of time to leave and even those who had no transportation - had busses and rescue teams to help them leave. They stayed! Its no different than I tell you your house is on fire and you ignore me, then die in flames.

#2. New Orleans was warned quite a few times by Preachers who were shown God was about to put his wrath on that sinful city which embraced witchcraft and celebrated lewdness. Not many listened as these preachers spelled it out FOR SEVERAL YEARS - that a Hurricane was going to destroy New Orleans.

The Hurricane that hit is a baby. The main one has not hit yet. New Orleans will not be habitable when it does. The first businesses this godless city was determined to open was Strip Clubs! No repentance, no shame, no guilt.

God never strikes a place without warning its people first. Indonesia also was warned by different preachers of God. They laughed at these preachers just like the did in New Orleans and in California. It has been told to Californians that the big one was coming before scientists confined the big one is coming. YET when it hits - people like you will be angry with God even after he warned them in advance.

Answer 11

Im glad you ask this question. becuz you 'where was he then?' ppl are pretty irritating. God doesn't beckon to the word of man. you got it all twisted. existence beckons to the word of god. in fact, there was only ONE time in the bible that god heeded the word of a man and that was in the book of exodus when Joshua lead the isrealites to conquer the land of canaan.

the fact is that this is a world of sin, a realm of which god does not reign because we have challenged his authority. ppl die hear all the time of natural disasters. I mean is there truly a blessed man without sin to which god would hearken unto in New Orleans?

I think not. God was where he was supposed to be when they needed him. In heaven opening his doors to the righteous unfortunate victims of the accident. Because through beleiving in him, when they die, they are saved.

saved from what, the eternal fires of hell.

So to answer your question thats where he was. if u don't belevie me(which im sure u dont) read the bible and see for yourself. There are plenty of stories exactly similar to what happen in new orleans.
Its important to realize that whether you die or not in such incidents that if you beleive in god, you will live forever.