Wonder if Jeb considered the fact that God was mad at him for fucking up the election 4 years ago?  I hate it when people offer up reasons for why God does things, especially Christians, especially since it is in direct conflict with altruisms stated in the Bible that instructs, God’s ways are mysterious.

The Bush Bros - Retards in Control!

Would any Christians actually find that relieving?

I agree Etan!

Isn’t this the typical religious rhetoric whenever something bad happens?

I’m a fairly religious person, but that’s a load of bullshit. If it were the first hurricane in human history, then I could see the Almighty getting some heat for this, but for something that happens every goddamned (oops, goin’ to hell for that!) year, it should be no surprise.

I love how religious freaks give God credit for everything bad (a hurricane) or for everything good (winning the Super Bowl because God likes the Patriots more than the Panthers).

What I wonder is Why are we surprised by this nonsense anymore?,

Hell, this week Alan Keyes blamed women who had abortions for 9/11 - God had to show us his power and all that…

FIrst of all… stop blaming me for shit I didn’t do… second of all, re-read the previous statement

The only thing that we can possibly blame god for if we postulate the he/she/it exists, is for being mioptic enough to create people afraid to think for them selves…

Feh!

Spocko,

That’s funny....

Our family has an old family bible, which, while the last two generations of ours have been agnostics and atheists, is still quite treasured, because it also doubles as a family tree/chronology-whatchamacallit going back almost 400 years (nifty, eh?).

Anyway, there are a couple dates in there except births and deaths that the writers considered important at that time. Guess what: every time a storm swept away the house or it burned down or drought struck, they were using (and re-using) phrases like ‘May god never send something like that again’. Geez, it took some time to learn that…

Ingolfson

Funny how the only people who got God’s message are the people who already believe in God. Even funnier how God, who supposedly created us, wouldn’t have learned to send less ambiguous messages to those of us who don’t believe.

All the Bush family sound like complete idiots.

It is god’s warning to people in Florida that there better be no more hanging chads. Least he will send his god of ocean noah to flood the area.

Hmm… maybe god was just tired of the old people taking too long to die?  I’m betting he took to long of a nap and got behind so he had to play ketchup.

Either way, at least Jeb cleared it up for us as to whose fault it actually is.

All the Bush family are complete idiots.

Fixed it for ya’! 

I still think Jeb is the smart(est) one. Honestly, I’d be much more surprised if no one had said anything to this effect (God’s reminding us mere mortals of his almighty power, etc).

I have to agree with Mike there. I would have been surprised if there was no god did this comments about it. What about a hurricane that never hits land, was god just pissed at all those damned fish filling up his ocean?

Hi giyz,

i thnk this god beleivers are fools or why should god make us fail in our exams,kill people...he can make a new earth also to us so tht ther won;t be more population in the normal earth...I thnk god is just an imaginary fool

It’s stupid the way Christians interpret tragedies such as this… it’s even more stupid coming from a fucking asshole like Jeb Bush. All this God talk is so pointless and embarassingly silly.

I am a Christian (and a liberal) and would like to explain what you all seem to be so silly.

The Bible says that God creates all good and all calamity.  If you believe that, then you believe that God sent that storm to Florida. 

Maybe Jeb’s conscience was bothering him for all those hanging chads.

I am a Christian (and a liberal) and would like to explain what you all seem to be so silly. The Bible says that God creates all good and all calamity.  If you believe that, then you believe that God sent that storm to Florida.

Charlamarla, despite a somewhat more-than-passing familiarity with the Bible, I can’t seem to recall seeing that in the book.  It also seems to have escaped C.S. Lewis in his research and writing for The Problem Of Pain.

I am a Christian (and a liberal)…

I have been coming on and off to your blog (Google loves ya!) the last few years, but felt this round I’m actually in a place having gone through Charley, Frances, etc. anyway, I feel sure you will have some strong feedback for me if you have time to look at my website, http://www.wesurvivedcharley.com since you know how to blog so well, and the content is enjoyable and passionate.  Thanks! Gotta run, W.S.

I think your website is just fine. A little heavy on the God-promotion, but otherwise there’s not a whole lot of criticism I can level against it.

Just wanted to address this comment posted to me:

“Charlamarla, despite a somewhat more-than-passing familiarity with the Bible, I can’t seem to recall seeing that in the book.  It also seems to have escaped C.S. Lewis in his research and writing for The Problem Of Pain.”

If I want to see if something is in the Bible, I don’t look for a C.S. Lewis book, I just go to the Bible. Here’s the passage, translated in different ways, where God says he creates good and evil. NIV and other PC’d up versions of the Bible use the terms “prosperity and disaster,” “hard times and good times,” “peace and calamity.” I’m not that much of a nerd that I can translate from the greek texts, so I’m left to compare scriptures in question to other English translations. Moreover, the Bible has countless instances where God has people go through terrible things so they can grow and come out of it stronger.

Isaiah 45:7 KJV

7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Darby
7 forming the light and creating darkness, making peace and creating evil: I, Jehovah, do all these things.

Youngs Literal
7 Forming light, and preparing darkness, Making peace, and preparing evil, I [am] Jehovah, doing all these things.’

“How do you live with yourself? Or is it kinda like being Frosted Shredded Wheat, having the perfect combination of great taste with a wholesome fear of a god?”

Really well.  Read the Bible, you’ll find out.

Isaiah 45:7 KJV
7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Well, Charlamarla, you got me: you found a “proof-text.” In fact I had forgotten about that conversation between Jacob and God.

But you said that all good and all calamity come from God, which isn’t what that passage says.  In fact the bible associates human suffering with Satan, with “wicked men,” with God as it says in that verse, with demons, with the natural effects of wickedness upon the self, with poor planning, and even with random chance (think the tower at Siloam.) God is far from the only source of calamity.

Residents of Florida are probably all too aware of Jesus’ statements about the foolish man who built his house upon the sand, and when the waters came, it fell with a great crash.  I bet they’re sick of hearing that one by now.

I wasn’t trying to find bible verses in Lewis - that’s what a concordance (and long familiarity with the bible) is for.  I was just trying (clumsily) to point out that a respected theologian didn’t see that single verse as having significant impact on the problem of pain. 

Read the bible, you’ll find out

Do you realize you’re assuming someone else will get the same thing out of reading the bible that you do?  It’s an astounding assumption, given that people come to a wide range of conclusions after reading it.  Usually, I would venture to say, about what they expected and hoped to find, going in.  There are enough different things in there that you can latch onto whatever seems important to you.

decrepitoldfool:

You said that the Bible blames human suffering on Satan, but I’ve found through my reading that there are other reasons for human suffering.  You mentioned some, but you did not mention what the Bible mentions, that God disciplines people, and he brings them to hardships to make them into something better. No pain no gain, so to speak.  Paul spoke of the “thorn” in his flesh, put there to remind him that he is not flawless, lest he think he is better than any of the least of our human family.

And, God created Satan, with His foreknowledge of what that would mean.

Personally, I do not question His intentions.  None of us can make the sun come up or bring in the tides, and until we do, we can’t question His intentions. There is a reason behind it all, and science keeps finding out new reasons all the time.  I believe there is darkness in the world so we can see the Light of the Lord in it.

“Do you realize you’re assuming someone else will get the same thing out of reading the bible that you do?”

Absolutely.  But, I was addressing a specific question from Brock, how can I live with myself.  Any one that reads the Bible can see that you can have a variety of viewpoints on social and economic issues while maintaining a belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus, in his own right, was a “liberal” of his day, challenging people to look beyond the letter of the law to the REASON behind the law.  He advocated kindness, mercy, patience and obedience.  Conservatives wanted to stone the prostitute but Jesus said, have compassion.  My conservative friends believe different things about social and economic issues, but we all believe in the Lord. Jesus spoke to the POOR and the RICH.  He did not exclude any class of people, and when he rose again, he commissioned his followers to spread his message to ALL people (republicans and democrats are included in ALL people .

A read of the Bible would show you that you can live quite well with yourself no matter your political leanings.

God bless!