Father--in this case, my dad--knows best

Couldn't let this comment on my New Orleans post languish in comment-world:

I believe that the problem is that God is too occupied controlling the outcome of football and basketball games and not focused on the major disasters.

If we praise God for the most insignificant happenings, such as winning the big game, at some point we have to look at the other side -- that God was against us -- so we lost the game; or to carry it further -- we were hit by a hurricane because we did something bad. Otherwise, we could have pushed the course of the storm by our prayers. (So that it hits less righteous folks.)

When the M8.5 earthquake hits San Francisco and kills thousands of people, I am sure that someone will emphatically state that it is God's punishment for the immorality and liberalism of S.F. But haven't M8.5 earthquakes hit that area dozens of time over the centuries? Were those earthquakes in anticipation of future sins?

God doesn't intervene in a hurricane or earthquake anymore that he intervenes in a football game. If he was an interventionist he probably would have sent a message to New Orleans a few hundred years ago saying "You might want to rethink building a city below sea level because I might be occupied controlling several thousand football games when a hurricane hits."

In the interest of full disclosure, the "anonymous" commenter is related to me by blood--actually, it's more accurate to say I'm related to him.

And if you were wondering, I'm also related to "P. Cones," who often leaves a comment when she's not busy running her antique empire in the heart of East Tennessee. ("Cones Cupboard" in Sweetwater--don't pass it up if you're on I-75.) Her last zinger on the bishop of Biloxi's plan to close a Hurricane Katrina-ravaged school--"Unfortunately the Catholic Church's priests, bishops, and so on, have a policy of 'My way or the highway.' Hmmm, let's let them take the highway and see how they do by themselves!!"--should demonstrate that I come by healthy suspicion of all things clergy honestly!

Guess the Internet has opened up new ways to keep an eye on your young-uns. We don't mind.