Posted: 8/28/2005 6:42:49 PM EDT
A WHOLE bunch of PRAYER for the folks in the Gulf coast/New Orleans area. They are about to get smoked..... You can BET, the Islamists have been on their faces, for days........  (I checked first TWO pages on this forum...Saw Nothing on this...) 
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THis may seem cold hearted but.... New Orleans IS a predictable anual landing point for hurricanes. As such, most of the people who live there have CHOSEN to live in a dangerous location. If these people need prayer, they need prayer for WISDOM as much as for safety. Scripture makes it CLEAR that we shouldn't deliberately palce ourselves in danger, then expect God to bail us out.  |
How deliberate were they when the weatherman said it was going to hit Florida? I agree with you for those that went surfing during Katrina or the reporters that tie themselve to a telephone pole for live coverage. Vast majority of people were unintentionaly caught in a hurricane. Shok |
AT LEAST one hurricane hits Nawleans every single year. EVERY adult in America SHOULD know this. THose who live there (other than the mentally incapacitated and children) made a DELIBERATE choice to live there. |
[sarcasm]Same goes for California and earth quakes, western states and wild fires, ND and cold, Michigan and snow, Washington and Mt Saint Helens, etc... Forget the farmers and fishermen too. They know its the most dangerous occupations. Pray for no one they asked for it anyway.[/sarcasm] Shok |
As I said, pray for them to have WISDOM.  Matthew 4 says - 7Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" Its not even a matter of praying for their safety. If danger is a predictable outcome (as it is in Nawleans) the REAL problem is these people are sinning in putting God to the test - playing chicken with possible death, and then expecting God to pull their fat out of the fire. Your examples don't necessarily measure up to the EVERY YEAR hurricanes of Nawleans, 'cept maybe for fishermen. That's dangerous stuff. And those who do it get what they get. Unless you have Scripture to say otherwise, your OPINION of the matter really doesn't matter. |
I tend to agree, but I'd like to offer this for consideration: The mere act of living in New Orleans is not inherently life threatening, nor is it putting God to the test, in my view. Intentionally remaining in the path of a hurricane is, however. Periodically losing your possesions and everything you worked for is to be expected. If the victim accepts this risk for what it is, I can find no fault in them. If they blame God for it, we have a problem. One could argue that a wise man builds his house upon a rock, not a swamp 10' below sea level who's integrity is dependant on levees and pumps. Still, there is certainly much I have not considered, and I have no authority to pass judgement. Praise God, that some Christians see fit to live amongst the sinful residents of New Orleans, despite wisdom which might suggest otherwise. |
I'm thinking some coon ass cajun is going to read this and put a voodoo curse on you. |
That's kind of messed up in a technical forum, isn't it? |
Not if you know what a coonass is, opposed to what you apparently think it is. ETA: Back on topic, there is NO SAFE PLACE on earth. All areas have something that is a recurring danger. Tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, blizzards, tsunamis, monsoons, floods - I challenge you to find someplace where you will never be in danger from the elements. |
My sincerest applogies, then. I thought it was a derogatory reference to a black resident of LA. So, what is a coonass? |
Cool. I'm REALLY sorry, btw. 
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no apology necessary. 
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No disagreement. I'm just sayin' prayer DOES NOT remove the necessity of personal responsibility. People make choices, and then must accept the outcomes of those choices. Its like the old joke about the guy waiting for God to rescue him from a flood, rejecting help from a boat and a helicopter. He eventually drowns and when he goes to heaven he asks God "Why didn't you rescue me?" GOd says "What did you think the boat and the helicopter I sent were all about?" |
I agree they need wisdom and it would better serve them to pray for wisdom. I agree on 99% of what you say. However, I don't think they were deliberate or testing God but were complacent. Too many hurricanes that fizzled out when it got to them or suddenly turned away. President Bush had to call the mayor to coerce them to evacuate. I don't think the mayor was testing God. I'm just saying being dumb isn't the same as being deliberate. Perhaps I'm just argueing semantics/ Shok |
Maybe we both are. FInal thoughts. YOu KNOW a hurricane WILL be in the Gulf every single year. (perhaps several) YOu know NO is a prime target. YOu know NO is below sea level. You know hurricanes create a storm surge of 20 - 30 feet. And yet "you" CHOOSE to live there? Are not disastrous consequences OBVIOUS? Is not potential loss of life OBVIOUS? What do you think God thinks? Me I wonder if God thinks ->  "I gotta bail them NO people out again."Or more likely He thinks "They knew the consequences, and made their choices." |
Last time I checked, the Carolinas were prime hurricane targets too...As well as the rest of the Eastern Sea board... But You and I live here...I'd hope if something with the velocity of Katrina were blowing in on us, someone would be kind enough to pray or think about us without feeling the need to judge our intelligence by our zip code |
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Considering that the hurricane structure survived to well into the Tennessee/Kentucky area, I'm starting to rethink what parts of the US I consider to be hurricane "danger zones". If you mirror the path from landfall so it went west instead of east, the tropical storm would've hit Missouri. Wow. Jim |