God's Purpose for Hurricane Katrina

editorial

terry lefler home

portrait art

portrait fees

how to order

fine art

about me

privacy

links

Bridget's Art

complete list of  editorials:

2004 election    *    "Sanctity of Life" is a "false doctrine"      *    Abortion       Divorce

God's Purpose for Hurricane Katrina    *   Why Do Muslims Hate Jews?   *   Masturbation

The Meaning of Life    *   Why Churches Don't Have Unity    *    Who Can Be Saved?

Can you love Jesus too much?

It is with hesitation and trepidation that I criticize of any of God’s people or churches.  God is well able to bring about change without my help and any “word of correction” should, logically, come from the prophets, pastors, teachers and evangelists within the churches.

The Evangelical Church has, however, become more than a church.  It is now a political "special interest group" that was so powerful that it delivered the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, along with control of Congress, to the Republican Party.  As a political “special interest group”, the Evangelical Church has every right and every responsibility of any other political “special interest group”.  My editorial comments are directed to the Evangelical Church as a political “special interest group” because, in my opinion, the leaders of the group have led the flock astray.

To the Evangelical Church

It was good to see that, after Hurricane Katrina, there was very little talk concerning the “judgment of God” on a section of society that was clearly operating outside of God’s instructions. Most Christian churches and most Americans got involved in helping the damaged people of the Gulf Coast without judgmental comments or “I told you so” gloating.

What became abundantly clear, as the tragedy in New Orleans unfolded, was that our society has serious social issues that have been ignored or hidden from view.  I consider that one of the purposes of God, in this disaster, is to show us the truth about ourselves and to make the revelation so powerful that we will be spurred to action.

This same kind of Godly revelation was also evident in the “September 11” attach on the United States by Al Quieda.   If the attacks had damaged the top ten floors of the buildings and killed a hundred people, it is unlikely that the people of the United States would have been so outraged that Afghanistan would be invaded.  I believe that it took the total destruction of both of the Twin Towers to create the outrage and unity that was necessary to drive this nation to war and that is why God has allowed the destruction.

In the same manner, I believe that God is using the Hurricane Katrina Gulf Coast disaster to show us some very serious national character flaws and social injustices.  Can it be that the cry of the poor and the oppressed has reached His ears?

The Christian churches have usually been quiet concerning civil rights issues, or social injustice issues, or issues concerning the poor.  One reason for this silence is that individual Christians have many different opinions on each of these issues.  However, differences of opinion have been largely “taught out” or “pressed out” of the Evangelical Church concerning the issues of “abortion”, and “sanctity-of-life”.  The resulting homogenous Evangelical Church congregation has become singularly focused on a few issues.  The main focus is on “abortion, and “sanctity of life”.  Secondary issues include “gay rights”, “school payer” and keeping God in our social fabric.  These are certainly important issues, but, should all of the other issues be held in relative disregard? 

We are supposed to hold everyone and everything in relative disregard in comparison to Jesus?  Is that not how we are to worship God?  Being focused on “abortion” and “sanctity of life”, to the exclusion of all other issues, is a lot like worship.  Have you have made gods for yourselves with your own hands?  Have you sacrificed our children and the poor to your “fetus god” and you “sanctity-of-life god”?

Oh!  You say that you do care about the other issues?  Your actions speak louder than your words.  You have probably petitioned your elected representatives about issues concerning abortion, gay-rights and sanctity-of-life, but, when was the last time you petitioned you representatives about the poor or about the children, or about “No child Left Behind”, or about social injustice, or about racism, or about equal representation for the poor, or educational opportunities for the poor?  When was the last time you petitioned your elected representative for laws to stop gerrymandering so that one person would truly have one vote 

By your actions, or lack thereof, you can measure how much you care about these other social issues.  You don’t seem to care that millions of children have been failed by the No-Child-Left-Behind laws.  You don’t seem to care that the lives of these failed children have been permanently diminished and that our society will soon have to confront a mass of high school drop-outs with all of the associated high crime and high poverty rates.  You don’t seem to care that the rich are robbing the poor (and the point man for the robbery is GW Bush).   You don’t seem to care that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.  You never did seem to care very much about racial inequality or social injustice.  You just don’t seem to care.  All you seem to care about are your “fetus god” and your “sanctity-of-life god”.

God has used Hurricane Katrina to cut open our nations bowels and expose our cancer.  Perhaps now you will care.  I believe that was God’s purpose in allowing this disaster.

Do you care?

©Terry Lefler, 06/2005  All rights reserved