Saturday, February 03, 2007

God’s Role in Florida Tornado?

As many evangelical ministers ascribe God’s motive for natural disasters, what might the Revs. Falwell and Robertson think about the deadly Florida twisters? The news revealed even a strongly built church was destroyed by powerful winds.

Parishioners walked over the splintered remains of the Lady Lake Church of God on Friday, rescuing torn Bibles from the jumble of broken pews, altar and glass left behind by a tornado. Someone had pulled a framed religious poem nearly unscathed from the rubble. Its title: "The Touch of the Master's Hand." The reinforced building had been considered an emergency shelter before the storm early Friday turned it into a twisted mess of wood and metal. Pieces of aluminum roof hung from oak branches and clanked in the wind.

Across a 30-mile swath, the twister and thunderstorms killed at least 19 people and laid waste to hundreds of homes. "Hell opened up and half the demons came out," said Russell Timmons, of Lady Lake. "The wind picked me up four times and put me back down," said Nellie Byrd, who huddled with her husband as the storm shook their home.

Was God (whose name comes from wind) mad at his own flock or did the Devil pay a visit? God is known to send hurricanes and tornados. What are the signature markings of a weather disaster’s author? Does the creator leave clues behind? I guess we’ll have to wait for one of our leaders with a God two way radio or camera to tell us. Will it be Revs. Falwell, Robertson or President Bush?

“I honestly believe God has a plan for all of us, and sometimes the plan doesn't lay out in a clear way." Ex-Florida Governor Jeb Bush (after God sent a shark to bite off an eight year old boy’s arm)

It’s not even clear who’s responsible at this moment. Nevertheless, bless all those in the path of coming storms, especially the human generated versions...

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