Is God to blame?

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Was God demonstrating his wrath when a hurricane wiped out New Orleans? 

Or is God demonstrating the power of his love through the love of those helping the hurricane refugees?

Psa 90:17 And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us.

[John Dibble]

Agnostic answer - how the hell should I know?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

ah, so you're with the fundies saying this was punishment for Mardi Gras and all that.

[John Dibble]

ah, so you're with the fundies saying this was punishment for Mardi Gras and all that.

No he isn't, read again.

[Hatman 🍁]

God is clearly mad at the area for voting Republican

[J. J.]

God is clearly mad at the area for voting Republican

I think Orleans Parish voted for Democrat in the last five elections.

[angus]

God is clearly mad at the area for voting Republican

I think Orleans Parish voted for Democrat in the last five elections.

well, then allah is getting pissed off I guess.

or gonesh.  he's actually a blue elephant, you know.

[Hatman 🍁]

God is clearly mad at the area for voting Republican

I think Orleans Parish voted for Democrat in the last five elections.

Wow, I wasn't aware of the fact that Orleans Parish was the only place hit the hurricane.

[J. J.]

I think that if you live in a city twenty feet below sea level, next to a large body of water, where storms drive water well above sea level, and you are aware of this, you have to blame God:

FOR CREATING YOU WITH SUCH INNATE STUPIDITY!

[J. J.]

God is clearly mad at the area for voting Republican

I think Orleans Parish voted for Democrat in the last five elections.

Wow, I wasn't aware of the fact that Orleans Parish was the only place hit the hurricane.

That is probably where the most deaths occured.

[Bugs]

God didn't cause Katrina, and he wouldn't prevent it.  It's the nature of the planet we live on.   There will be further Katrina style natural disasters, and Sept 11th style man-made disasters.  Some people think this means that the end of the world is coming.  It does.  It might happen tomorrow, or it might happen in the year 3005.  Or later.  In the mean time, wee what you can do to help out. 

[minionofmidas]

God is clearly mad at the area for voting Republican

I think Orleans Parish voted for Democrat in the last five elections.

well, then allah is getting pissed off I guess.

or gonesh.  he's actually a blue elephant, you know.

God is Allah, wisecrack.

[Bono]

Of course God did it, though I'm not arraogant enohg to presume to know God's motives.
There is, however, suficient scriptural evidence to tell us that God orchestrates events such as this.

Is 45:6-8
6That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. 8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.

[KEmperor]

I think that if you live in a city twenty feet below sea level, next to a large body of water, where storms drive water well above sea level, and you are aware of this, you have to blame God:

FOR CREATING YOU WITH SUCH INNATE STUPIDITY!

Yeah, I think this sums it up.

[Carey]

I think that if you live in a city twenty feet below sea level, next to a large body of water, where storms drive water well above sea level, and you are aware of this, you have to blame God:

FOR CREATING YOU WITH SUCH INNATE STUPIDITY!

That has to be my favourite post I have seen on this forum...

[angus]

God is clearly mad at the area for voting Republican

I think Orleans Parish voted for Democrat in the last five elections.

well, then allah is getting pissed off I guess.

or gonesh.  he's actually a blue elephant, you know.

God is Allah, wisecrack.

actually, I believe the saying is "God is Great."  Allah Akbar. 

He does get pissed off sometimes, though.  Look at Gamorah.  And New Orleans. 

[© tweed]

There's a perfect scientific explanation for why this happened.  Lets not get god involved if we can help it.

[Joe Republic]

actually, I believe the saying is "God is Great."  Allah Akbar. 

Didn't Allah Akbar lead the fleet of the Rebel Alliance in the attack on the second Death Star?  Or was that Admiral Akbar?

[opebo]

Was God demonstrating his wrath when a hurricane wiped out New Orleans? 

Or is God demonstrating the power of his love through the love of those helping the hurricane refugees?

To pose such a question requires a mental disorder involving the abandonment of reason.

[Gabu]

Of course God did it

Given that you think it's so obvious, can you prove that God did it without resorting to a two thousand-year-old book?  That Bible thing doesn't really work too well on those who aren't 100% convinced that every single bit of it is fact (and on those who are, but disagree with your particular interpretation, too).

[J. J.]

Since we are getting philosophical tonight, God created free will and gave it to us.  We used it, in this case, to build a city below sea level next to a large body of water where storms raise the water level well above sea level.

[Gabu]

Since we are getting philosophical tonight, God created free will and gave it to us.  We used it, in this case, to build a city below sea level next to a large body of water where storms raise the water level well above sea level.

Well, sort of.  From an article on New Orleans, "the site was selected because it was a rare bit of natural high ground along the flood-prone banks of the lower Mississippi".  From what I've gathered, it was above sea level when it was built, but the ground sank over time.  I would say that, given this, our free will disallowed us at that time simply from having foresight, not from surmounting the blind stupidity that would be required to begin construction on a city below sea level surrounded by water.

[J. J.]

The "high ground" was the original city (which didn't flood last week.  The levees largely protected the low ground and had the added effect of causing the ground under them to sink from the extra weight.

[jimrtex]

The "high ground" was the original city (which didn't flood last week.  The levees largely protected the low ground and had the added effect of causing the ground under them to sink from the extra weight.

I happened to come across this interesting little article on the neighborhood around the London Avenue Canal.  Pumps weren't added until 1945, which allowed development near the lake.

Filmore

If you link back to other neighborhoods, you'll find repeated mentions of areas that were relatively late developments after some drainage improvements were made.

[Hitchabrut]

No, G-d set the Universe so that we would be tested because our autonomy would allow us to go astray, but we would be obligated to follow His doctrines. He caused nature to act similarly, yet distinctly, as nature's wrath is not driven by conciousness, most often. G-d's intervention in life is not very common, in my possibly ridiculous opinion, but it is precious and occurs for a purpose, which we often are unable to fathom, using our mortal minds to search for answers.