Debunking some "Christian" viewpoints

Well, there are some Christian-type folks making their way into the fringe media circles making some pretty outrageous claims concerning Hurricane Katrina.  Without going into a great deal of textual study (which would be incredibly interesting though, believe me), let me just go ahead and say this.

If God was pronouncing a judgment on New Orleans for things such as Mardi Gras, Girls Gone Wild, and the like, why did he not flood the French Quarter beyond recognition?  It was one of the areas that has comparatively light damage.

Though the Old Testament certainly shows that God has every ability to involve himself personally in the activities of mankind, such as eradicating people who are so far gone in sin that there is no way of coming back, the New Testament does not offer the same picture.  Basically, God’s methodology has changed with the onset of the New Covenant.  Jesus himself stated that he came not to condemn the world, but to save it.  In essense, the intention of God is to deal with mankind on the individual level rather than in the national sense. 

But the charge comes, “Why didn’t God stop this great devastation taking place?”  Honestly, I can understand why someone would ask this question.  Most people believe that God is a loving God who cares for man and that seems to stand in contrast to a God who allows these terrible things to take place.  But in that statement is the point.  God allows these things to take place.  He doesn’t cause them.  He isn’t sitting out over the Atlantic Ocean stirring the pot so that two weeks later three states are forced to deal with utter devastation.  Nature plays out in the same form as it has for thousands of years.  Sometimes we’re “lucky” and the westward winds kill the storm.  Sometimes it goes in the other direction.  Yes, it does sound a bit pragmatic, but I think in this case, its called for.

Certainly I believe that we could all use a good dose of wake-up medicine.  The freedoms granted by our country lend themselves to people making choices that go against the commands of Christ (umm, that’s the long definition of “sin”).  But today, sin is not rammed down the throats of anyone to the degree that we have no choice in the matter.  That seems to be the case in those nations that were destroyed in the Old Testament.  It is pervasive in our culture though, and something that we should recognize.

Any questions class?