Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests Katrina an act of God?

Kind of different spin on this discussion. Though the main points have been touched on here, I appreciate the way he sums things up so I wanted to share. Here's a link but I copied it anyway. And don't worry, its not as long as the Tribes thing.

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.

in a word...no.

Eliminating poverty and taking care of the environment are worthwhile pursuits. No harm pointing out the Bible tells us to do so.

Really the people who built and developed New Orleans in a swamp, diverted water flow to the wetlands, ignored warnings of possible disaster, and failed to build strong enough levees, have brought this upon themselves. Its sad to see so many people suffer and die because of it.

To original poster - excellent quote of the article. It certainly gave me a lot of food for thought. I especially liked his logic and the way his thoughts were expressed.

I for one side with the camp that believe things don't happen out of random. It's because we don't see the whole picture, and just a small part of picture, that makes events seem random, or 'act of God' to us.

To quote a phrase from a movie, '..cause and effect is the only thing that is truly universal..' Katrina is the effect, we are the cause. Whether it's our accelerated use of fossil fuel. Or negligence in property development. Or greed driven business practice. Or immoral/irresponsible life style.., It is our doing that is the cause of tragic events around us.

Thanks again for sharing the article. It has been enlightening.

Global warming is BS.

In the 70s, there were similar "scientific studies" that fortold of global cooling & an impending ice age. I can remember being told in school about the glacier 1 mile deep that would devastate my home state of Maine & possibly reach as far south as New York City.

Despite the data that indicate lakes in the NE are freezing ealier & staying frozen longer (a total of about 4 extra weeks of frozen lakes in the last 40 years), the global warming "experts" still sing their song.

**SIGH**

Look back 40 years & you'll see the trend in hurricanes has been relatively quiet for the Atlantic coast. The previous 40 years will show a much higher number of storms on average, & much stronger storms... Kinda like a PATTERN.

Just wait, and mark my words, people will be cying about all the rain in California over the next decades, but guess what... The rings of trees in the region show that the last 80 years of mild weather in California has been a horrid abberation. To get to a more 'typical' weather pattern as witnessed by the rings of ancient trees, the annual rainfall will greatly increase. That means landslides & flooding & other natural events. Get used to it.

There is hardly anyone in the Scientific community that does not believe Global Warming is real. The whole point of Global Warming is that on average the temperature will rise a few degrees. One day you might have the coldest day of ever recorded but those days before less likely and this might only one day of a year that is a degree warmer than the previous.

If you are still confused or refuse to believe that our consumption is not affecting the world then look here and they answer any more of your questions.

Global warming or not, the overall message of the article is sound. Though I tend to agree with the scientific evidence that supports global warming, I'm still somewhat on the fence about that. I might be convinced after a few more C5 Hurricanes and maybe a runaway polar ice cap or two.

Two other points though.

1. It does seem certain that clearing out the wetlands and building levees to make way for urban development contributed significantly to the impact Katrina had on the region. Not to mention the fact that this development took place below sea level!

2. Most of the hardest hit victims were poor people.

OK so what? Well, this is where the Bible comes in, if you believe in the Bible that is. It says that we are supposed to, among other things, care for the poor and be good stewards of the Earth (whether global warming is true or not). And it seems obvious that we as a people, government, or whatever haven't done enough to protect what God has asked us to. And if you don't believe in the Bible it should still be obvious that many people on many levels really screwed some things up.