Katrina. Who is to Blame? Ray Comfort
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> 
Someone recently sent me an interesting email. It said that the killer hurricane Katrina arrived just days before the beginning of a popular homosexual celebration called "Southern Decadence," an event that drew thousands each year to <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />New Orleans. The city's mayor officially welcomed visitors to it (see www.southerndecadence.com), as did the two previous mayors. The email said that the event filled the French Quarter section of the city with drunken homosexuals engaging in sex acts in the public streets and bars. When a local pastor sent video footage of sex acts being performed in front of police, to the mayor, the city council, and the media, city officials apparently ignored it and continued to praise the weeklong celebration as being an "exciting event." The email concluded by saying that the hurricane was God's judgment on the sinful city.
            Well, who should be blamed for a killer hurricane that destroys an entire city? Insurance companies and the media say that is God who is to blame, calling such catastrophes "an Act of God." Even the dictionary says the buck stops at Heaven's door, saying an Act of God is "An unforeseen and uncontrollable natural event, such as a hurricane, fire, or flood[1]."
            Ask yourself, who is ultimately in charge of the weather department? Isn't it the Creator of all things? He could have changed the course of Katrina in a heartbeat. But He didn't. For some reason, He let Katrina cross Florida as a category one hurricane. Then He let her rev up to a category four and rip into New Orleans like there was no tomorrow. And this happened just days before the beginning of "Southern Decadence."
            While there are some who are saying that, "God hasn't changed in the way He deals with a modern Sodom and Gomorrah,"  I suggest that there's a better way to reach this world. America doesn't need the voice of a modern prophet. All it needs is the voice of a faithful Church who understands something that is critical.
            A friend of mine recently told me that he ended up in court because he had a handful of unpaid parking tickets. When I asked why he didn't pay them, he said that it was because they were "just parking tickets." It was "no big deal." He was arrested by the police at 4:00 AM and taken to a Los Angeles court in a big black bus.
            When he stood before the judge he told him that he had the money to pay the fines and any court costs. The judge said, "Mr. So 'n So. I'm going to save you having to pay out all that money. You are going to jail!" Much to my friend's horror, he was taken to prison.
            His problem was that he trivialized his crimes. He would have had a different attitude had he understood the punishment he had coming to him. If he had known what the judge was going to say to him, he would have quickly made things right between him and the law.
            The Bible says that sinners have broken God's Law (the Ten Commandments). But they trivialize their crimes. They will admit that they have lied and stolen, but they were just "white" lies, and the things they took were just little things. Like my friend, their trivializing makes them think that they will be able to fix things up with the Judge when they see Him. Sin is no big deal.
            They need to understand what the Judge will say when they stand before Him, or they will never see their need to make things right between them and the Law. The Bible tells us not to be deceived about this, and warns that no thief will enter the Kingdom of God. Neither will fornicators (those who have had sex before marriage), homosexuals, adulterers, drunkards, and those who are greedy for material gain (see 1 Corinthians 6:9). The Scriptures say that we commit adultery in God's sight if we so much as lust for another person (see Matthew 5:27-28). If we hate someone, we have committed murder (see 1 John 3:15). On the Day of Judgment we will have to give an account of every "idle word" we have spoken. The Scriptures further warn that anyone who has been sexually immoral, those who have had a false image of God, and all liars will be cast into the lake of fire (see Revelation 21:8). It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God.
            Because the Church has failed to hold up the Moral Law and the fearful consequences of breaking it, a sinful world cannot for a moment entertain the thought a loving God would have anything to do with a killer hurricane. In their ignorance they think that God is their friend, when the Bible makes it clear that He's actually their enemy and that His wrath abides on them until they come to faith in Christ (see Romans 5:10, Colossians 1:21, James 4:4, John 3:36).
            So is it the "fault" of homosexuals that Katrina visited New Orleans?  Or should the blame be laid at the door of the contemporary Church that has fashioned its vocabulary to tickle the ears of a sinful world?  Popular preachers refuse to use words like wrath and sin. They don't warn of Judgment Day and the reality of Hell. They fail to do what Jesus did. He spoke many times of the coming Judgment, and He used the Law to show sin in its true light (see Mark 10:17, Luke 18:18).
In failing to imitate Christ, the Church has played the part of Aaron. It has furnished the material for the world to create its own golden image of God . . . and that paves the way for Southern Decadence.
Ray Comfort is the author of more than 40 books. He co-hosts an award-winning television show (with actor Kirk Cameron). His latest book is, What Did Jesus Do? (Genesis Publishing Group) www.livingwaters.com
 
 
 

[1] American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms.