That Is Not a Good God
I have been struck again since Katrina by the incredibly narrow and hateful image of God that some people can have. Whether it is the preacher who says that God was finally getting rid of the wickedness so New Orleans could start all over on a better footing to those who might think that but simply say that God's ways are greater than ours, I cannot begin to accept that view of God.

It is of course the problem of "theodicy" which the Book of Job so poetically wrestles with. Yes, Job ends with the "God's ways are inscrutable so challenge them only when you are as powerful as God" approach. I must admit that some of that IS for me the best answer among a lot of bad ones. But to put into God's plan the wanton destruction of innocent lives is to talk about a "god" I have trouble falling.

And yes, I hear the chorus calling out- "But no one is innocent. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Yes, but God took care of that on the Cross, not another Flood. God works on grace we proclaim so loudly. THAT is not grace.

As I was surfing yesterday I came across the JumboJoke.com site. But one post after Katrina was not a joke, though we wish it were. The first paragraph is by the writer of the joke site, explaining where he got this. It says it with far more power than I am able to.

Among my many friends I count Paul Myers, an ad copywriter and Internet marketer. After Hurricane Katrina flattened New Orleans and many areas near there, he sent out a message to his newsletter subscribers, of which I am one. This isn't a joke, and isn't meant as one, but it is an interesting and thought-provoking item. It's reprinted with permission, and Paul's site is linked at the bottom.

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I'm not a religious guy, but I've always believed that the best neighbors you can have are real libertarians or true Christians. (Either group can be of virtually any religion, if you think about it.)

Note that I said true Christians.

There's another variety out there that I call "Born Against" Christians. A lot of those people are saying that this disaster is a message from on high.

Well, I've got a message for them:

To the alleged "Christians" who believe "this is God's punishment on the people of New Orleans for their wickedness and evil," I offer this thought:

If you believe that your God punishes the wicked by drowning the poor, the sick, the very old and the very young, alone in their beds and their attics...

If you believe that your God requires that mothers watch as their children die of dehydration as penance for the "sins" of others...

If you believe that your God would willingly drive people to starvation, hopelessness and despair to make a point...

If you believe any of this, I suggest that you might be confused. True, there is an entity in the Christian faith that would do all of these things, but...

Its name is not God.
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©2005 by Paul Myers/TalkBiz, Inc., reprinted with permission.
Found at JumboJoke.com