Giants In The Earth
It's the end of the world! The signs are everywhere! First there was the Internet, then the Holy Reclamation (via George Bush) in the Middle East, and now drought, earthquakes, and gay marriage! This can only mean that God (the one worshiped in the heartland of America - not the one represented in actual scripture) is obviously sending signs that our way of life has fallen so drastically that we have lost sight of our spiritual path.
It's rarely that I've waxed political on this blog, but it should be noted that skepticism isn't solely for rubber bigfoot suits frozen in ice, or planets mistaken for UFOs. You can apply skepticism to almost anything around you, and that includes public policies, legislation, and political platforms.
I recently moved to the humble state of Texas, where the governor goes golfing with God on weekends. He (the governor - don't let the "H" fool you) is thinking of making a bid for the White House on a premise of faith. In his own state, the land is suffering from drought, and is convinced that a day of prayer and fasting will help end these troubled times.
Let he who is without nitrates cast the first stone...
These prayer gatherings have gone on throughout the summer for everything from asking God for rain, asking God for a better economy, to getting rid of those heathen gays who are clearly to blame for our country's decline (but not for his efforts to educate people on the matter of heterosexual intercourse). Thus far, God seems to be in it for the free publicity, but has failed at actually answering these prayers.
(Note: the economy in Texas is booming, but I think that's mainly to jobs opening up in the tech industry more than it is because of prayer. I haven't seen many tent revivals at the Google, Apple, or Dell offices here.)
"Dogs and cats, living together..."
Today it was reported that an earthquake occurred and caused not only the Washington Monument to lean (expect Jay Leno to provide hilarious insight into that one), but damage to the National Cathedral, as well.
What does it all mean? Could God very well be trying to send a message about how angry He is with the corruption in Washington, the prurient lifestyles of the decadent masses, and the travesty of the Obama Presidency? "All God's chill'un got birth certificates."
Not to be a damp towel on this speculation, and possibly the upcoming specials on TBN, The 700 Club, or The History Channel, but the earthquake happened for very simple and scientific reasons. Not only that, it happened in Virginia. Further studying will also show that there with earthquakes in Ohio and upstate New York - both places where, shockingly, nothing was happening in the political or financial realms.
Earthquakes happen when pressure builds in plates beneath the Earth's surface - either due to movement along fault lines, or a buckling and expanding deep in the plate itself. Contrary to popular belief, earthquakes do not occur due to high concentrations of gay people, or even people who oppose Moses and his buddy, God.
Now as for Rick Perry, his bid for the White House is a long shot, but to prove that he is somewhat more grounded (or to prove that the people want to be fooled by outrageous claims), he might want to focus on why businesses are growing in his state and why there might be a scientific reason for the drought, rather than getting into a debate that, as the late comedian Richard Jeni put it, "to see who's got the better imaginary friend."
Or better still, while everyone's riding on the atonement wagon, why he once may have looked at scientific data and believed in numbers, as opposed to Numbers.
