Do you believe...?

Question

...that the tragedy of New Orleans is a result of God deliberately "washing away all of the sin"? This is what a minister in our community wants us to believe.

Answer 1

No....God promised not to destroy us by flood again..

Answer 2

First of all, I am a devout Christian who truly believes that everything happens for a reason. Now I'm not saying your minister is wholly correct or wholly incorrect. But, in the end, why does it matter if we know why it happened? The fact of the matter is that it happened. You have to remember that our world is tainted with sin.
"if Adam had never fallen, the whole human race would have been a series of magnificently different and splendid images of God, each one of all the millions of men showing forth His glories and perfections in an astonishing new way, and each one shining with his own particular sanctity, a sanctity destined for him from all eternity as the most complete and unimaginable supernatural perfection of his personality."
- Thomas Merton
Scientists have been searching for the CAUSE of things for a long time. For example, what causes depression or other such things. People always want a clear cut answer like genetics cause depression or your environment causes depression (nature vs. nurture debate). When in reality, scientists are realizing more and more that it is an interaction between the genetics (nature) and the environment (nurture) which cause a lot of things. The point is: very often, if not always, there is not a clear cut cause of something. To apply this to our current question, rather than looking at the tragedy of New Orleans as something which is sent from God or from the Devil, it is helpful to look at the tragedy as an interaction, or combination, of the two forces. Think of God vs. the Devil as a war. Earth is the battle ground. Now is the damage down to the battle ground or the casualities a direct cause of one of the sides attacks against the other?... or are the effects due to the interaction of one side's attack and another side's defense or counterattack? Is it possible that the Devil's attack was the hurricane and all the bad which comes along with the New Orleans tragedy. Is it possible that God's counter attack or defense was all the stories of miracles and mercy and heroism which came as a result of the storm? I hope this helps you and I pray that you grow in your faith and that the Lord works in you and through you for the advancement of His Kingdom. God Bless!

Answer 3

That kind of God doesn't actually exist except in the minds of the fearful. God is Life. God is Love. God Is freedom. By the same token everything is God so yes, technically, New Orleans was God, but not in a punishing way. I would consider getting a new minister or a new community. Namaste.

Answer 4

No. You can not justify any tragedy by calling it God's Will. And God Sent the rainbow as a promise that he would never destroy by water again. Why would God let terrorists fly aiplanes into a building? Why would God let the leader of a countryu send it's people off to die in a war? For some higher purpose a thousand years in the future? Heck no. This world is Satan's world. Literally, of figuratively, people who believe in God sometimes do not believe in Satan, but it is Satan that would wipe out all people. God is love. And in time it will show, that no way but Gods way will lead man to eternal life.

Answer 5

With all due respect to the minister, he cannot possibly know the intent of God. Can God control the weather? Yes! Could God have stopped the hurricane? Of course! Was it the "Will of God"? Only God knows.

My personal belief is that God allows things to happen to suit His purpose. We don't know what His purpose is because He is way bigger than we are; and that should not be our focus.

When tower in Siloam fell and killed eighteen people, Jesus was asked, "Do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?" Jesus replied, "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

The minister would better serve his flock by preaching the Gospel and making sure people are saved. We never know when another hurricane (or any other disaster) will hit.

Answer 6

That minister is a B.S. artist. Remind him that God washed away about 100 of his houses of worship in New Orleans. Kind of counter-productive if you asked me. But it's just more evidence that there is no man living in a cloud. Mention that to the minister and watch him nervously laugh.

Answer 7

God is not stopping natural tragedies right now because he is allowing time for all people and angels to see the results of NOT having his guidance and direction in their lives. Satan's challenge was that man could rule himself independant of God and later, that man only worshipped God for selfish reasons. These two issues will be resolved and THEN Armegeddon will wipe out anyone who is unwilling to play by the rules God has established for us. Life will be the perfect paradise that God originally intended.

Answer 8

He's nuts. What a truly horrible thing to say. My husband is from New Orleans and he's just like everyone else and makes pretty good cash as a manager for one of the head offices of a hotel chain in the city. I just want to smack those idiots that say the people in New Orleans deserved it. Especially since they claim to be a loving religion. Yeah right.

You want to know what the bloody churches did there? They refused people sanctuary before, during and after the hurricane saying that they were "unclean".

Your minister is full of selfrighteous arrogant crap and deserves to have his face slapped.




You know... I tend not to get upset by anything I see on the internet but this time... this time I hope your minister falls into a deep dark hole and rots there.

Answer 9

Hi
then he is wrong.. gone are the days of a wrathful gods destroying cities and turning people to salt for looking back...it was a result of high water and your government not spending enough on the dams in the first place and now its cost them 100 times as much to put right and people dead. nothing to do with god saying i know what, i will flood New Orleans and kill a few people to wash away their sins.. remember Jesus was supposed to die to forgive our sins,, and also God gave you the choice to sin or not.. and then you get judged when you die.

Answer 10

Considering the current murder rate in New Orleans, I'd have to wonder how he can think that it's meant to wash away all of the sin. It seems like the sinners are still there, and are taking it out on their neighbors.

Answer 11

If god intended to wash away "all of the sin", why wasn't the entire city destroyed, including the French Quarter? As an atheist, I wouldn't believe that god had anything to do with it anyway, but neither would any sensible christian.