Advertise Here

Deliver your message to thousands of readers every day.

Our readers are influential opinion makers - politicians, journalists and activists.

Our latest headlines

Attorney General Brown Announces Largest Predatory Lending Settlement in History: $8.68 Billion in Home Loans and Foreclosures Relief Nationally—Up to $3.5 Billion to Californians—From Countrywide Financial Corporation
Hannah-Beth Jackson Has the Goods on Tony Strickland in Pivotal California Senate Seat Race
Proposition 5: We Need to Fix the Drug Court System
Turning a Red California District Blue: Is the Third Time a Charm for Ferial Masry and the Sixth Seat for Democrats to Gain Two-Thirds in the Assembly?
The Heller Gun Decision Week 14 – The U.S. Senate Holds H.R. 6842 and California Holds SB 327
Cavala: Competitive Legislative Seats Do Not Produce “Moderate” Lawmakers
In California’s 5th Senate District Race Democrat Wolk Should Win

About Us

The California Progress Report is published by Frank D. Russo, a longtime observer of and participant in California politics.

About Frank Russo.
About California Progress Report.

Got a news tip? Want to write a guest column? Contact Frank here.

Books

Blaming Same-Sex Marriage for California’s Fires

By Randy Bayne
The Bayne of Blog's California Notes

This one should be placed under the heading of “should have seen this one coming.” A writer of a Letter to the Editor in the Sacramento Bee has put to print what surely many others are thinking. The more than 1,000 fires charring the north state landscape are a result of California’s legalization of same-sex marriage.

Do you remember when same-sex marriage was front-page news? Less than a week later, California was burning.

The letter writer’s rationale is that since same-sex marriage licenses started being issued on June 16 and less than ten days later, on June 25, it was reported that 1,026 fires were burning across the north state, obviously there must be a connection. California is experiencing the wrath of the Almighty. The writer goes so far as to actually make a connection between dry lightning strikes and fire from heaven.

Furthermore, on the same day, the Associated Press reported, “In less than a day, an electrical storm unleashed nearly 8,000 lightning strikes that set more than 800 wildfires across Northern California – a rare example of ‘dry lightning.’ “

God must be mad. (Read that any way you like)

I could end this here with something like, “this wing-nut is friggin’ nuts.” It says enough on its own about the religious right and their total departure from Christian ideals. But I feel like a little rant today, and am really tired of people on both sides distorting scripture to mold it to fit their preconceptions.

Bob’s Rant

Mr. Letter-Writer couldn’t resist making the tired reference to the ancient destruction of biblical Sodom using Genesis 19. What he fails to do is take scripture in complete context; something we Christians are very good at accusing others of doing.

The account of Sodom and Gomorrah begins a chapter earlier in Genesis 18 when the Lord appeared to Abraham to tell him of his plan for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham entered into a negotiation with God. That in itself is amazing. That a mere mortal would be so bold, but Abraham had a unique relationship with God that seems to be missing in today’s Christians. He asked God, “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” [ Gen. 18:23 ]

Rather than condemn, Abraham pleads for the people of Sodom. “Far be it from you to do such a thing — to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the judge of all the earth do right?” [ Gen. 18:25 ] And thus ensues one of the most notable bargaining sessions in recorded history.

In the end, all those who God knew to be righteous were spared and only the wicked were punished.

To those, like the writer of this letter, who see God’s punishment in natural disasters, like the north state fires and hurricane Katrina, ask yourself and your God, “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Will not the judge of all the earth do right?”

See these natural disasters for what they are. Natural disasters. God is not looking for ways to punish human kind. He doesn’t need to. Their punishment is preordained. Quite the contrary, God has provided a way for the wicked – that would be all of us – to escape his coming wrath. We Christians need to stop doing God’s job and start doing ours — living in a world where sin surrounds us and bringing light into the darkness. God will take care of the rest.

Randy Bayne is Chair of the Amador County Democratic Party. This article originally appeared in The Bayne of Blogs and is published with the permission of the author.

Posted on June 29, 2008

Comments

I'm inclined to agree with you that God is not always judging us with every natural disaster, however, I'm cautious to say that He isn't or can't judge us with natural disasters as well, because after all, He is God and can punish us in whichever way He chooses (except by flooding because He promised not to do that ever again and He can't break character in which He promises not to lie, or break His promises).

When trying to figure out the reasoning of God in my own life, I still come to the conclusion that Job reached at the end of his own trials where he states, "Who can know the mind of God". On the one hand, it would seem that God has spared me from some disasters and future pain, yet on the other, it seems that He has also judged me for past sins. While God's word is clear on what is sin and what is not, ultimately, I can't help but feel that He has left some things up to me to figure out - homosexuality not being one of those. To the dismay of many, He is very clear on that issue.

I think that God's response to us as Christians regarding any type of difficulty or trial would be the same as He responded to Job in chapter 38, "Who is he that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?"

While there seems to be a direct relation between the Gay Marriage ruling in San Diego and the fires in Southern California a week later, and the Gay Marriage ruling in Sacramento also followed by the fires in Northern California shortly thereafter, we still need to be cautious when deciding that this is at the hand of God. It very well could be. Or not. Either way, we as Christians are responsible to work out our own salvation with "fear and trembling".

We do, after all, have the power of prayer on our side. The best thing we can do is pray that the Lord will deal with it and give the battle over to Him. That may entail some getting busy in politics, or not, but still, prayer leaves the judging and the fighting to God - where ultimately He will win because it is His battle. Can't people see that that is all He wants from us anyway: to recognize His complete sovereignty and power over us?

Posted by: MPhillips at June 29, 2008 08:32 AM

Get Email Updates

Want the California Progress Report by email? Once a week, we'll send you the latest and greatest headlines.

Stat tracker