Wrath of God, or Human Error?

I have heard some Christian's referring to the current catastrophe in the south as God's judgment on the United States, but it is my opinion that prescribing a disaster as an act of God, that could have potentially been avoided by humans is problematic. We simply have no way of knowing if God is judging us or not. If what we have been hearing in the news is true, the levies in New Orleans were capable of withstanding only a category 3 hurricane, so human error might be to blame. It seems that for decades, New Orleans has feared what has now come upon it, and although the city and the state were aware of the potential calamity, nothing was done to secure their beloved city.

Christians need to be careful about placing this calamity in the lap of God. We better be careful not to bear false witness against our God. We may not know what divine purpose has to do with this horrifying event, but we know this, the danger was known (weak levies), the consequences had been assessed (deadly flooding), and nothing was done. When a larger than life sign says "danger" and that sign is ignored, only the desperate point the blame away from themselves. A city that sits on a hill may shine a great light, but a city that sits beneath the waters, may drown in human error.

TOTT