Leave it to the Worldnutdaily to point out the “eerie Bible coincidence” — though the article never actually mentions the Bible other than in the headline — of two hurricanes hitting New Orleans around the same time, seven years apart. And of course, it’s all the fault of gay people.
The arrival of Hurricane Isaac exactly seven years after Hurricane Katrina blasted New Orleans has some people wondering if there’s more to it than random chance, and suggesting the popular homosexual festival Southern Decadence may be part of a judgment from God.
“A hurricane hitting a celebration of decadence … twice in seven years. What are the odds?” asks Robin Cox, a lifelong Gulf Coast resident…
The timing of Isaac in relation to Katrina has caught the attention of some Christian pastors, including John McTernan of the Defend and Proclaim the Faith website:
“Katrina was the greatest natural disaster ever to hit America. Now seven years later, to the day, another hurricane is heading towards this city. The fact the events are seven years apart is very significant as this number is biblically important. It is the number of completion: God created the universe in seven days. The church, city and nation have not repented and the homosexual agenda is far worse than it was in 2005.
“New Orleans is still hosting Southern Decadence with open homosexuality manifesting in the streets of the city. It could be that God is putting an end to this city and its wickedness. The timing of Hurricane Isaac with Southern Decadence is a sign that God’s patience with America’s sin is coming to an end. … Let’s all watch this very closely, because if New Orleans is destroyed, it is a sure sign that the final judgment for the national sin of America has arrived.”
What are the odds? Pretty darn good, actually. The Atlantic hurricane season lasts from June 1 to November 30, but the peak of the season, when both the highest number and the most severe hurricanes are likely to hit, is in late August and September. So the odds of two hurricanes hitting seven years apart, both the week before Labor Day is fairly high. Funny how natural disasters always seem to confirm the bigotries of the wingnuts and never the other way around. This is two straight Republican conventions, four years apart, that have been delayed by hurricanes, but you never hear them wondering if maybe God is trying to punish Republicans. I’ll take confirmation bias for $1000, Alex.
24 comments
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StevoR
August 31, 2012 at 12:35 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Problem is though that if they thought God *was* punishing the Republicans then it’d no doubt be because (they’d claim) the Republicans were being too moderate and not religiously extreme enough. Picking Mittens not Santorum etc .. Can’t win. Sigh.
Michael Heath
August 31, 2012 at 12:40 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Well God misses again since the gay enclaves didn’t suffer nearly as much as the poor urban parishes in Katrina and the rural area outside N.O. during Isaac.
nigelTheBold, Venomous Demonic Hater
August 31, 2012 at 12:52 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Of course it’s more than random chance.
This is hurricane season. New Orleans is in the path of hurricanes.
Also not random chance: that fundamentalists try to pin things on gays.
thalwen
August 31, 2012 at 12:53 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
God works in mysterious ways. For example, he will kill 300 out of 301 people in a plane crash in order to teach the 1 person some lesson. Or he will launch a hurricane at an entire region because he doesn’t like a gay club being there. Mysterious ways indeed..
baal
August 31, 2012 at 12:59 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Well, the WND post is totally a surprise. By ‘surprise’ I mean totally predictable and right on schedule.
Gregory in Seattle
August 31, 2012 at 1:00 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Let’s see. Seven years ago, NO was hit by a hurricane named Katrina. K is the 11th letter of the alphabet, and the 11th letter of the Hebrew alphabet is Kaf. Now, NO was hit by a hurricane named Isaac. I is the 9th letter of the alphabet, and the 9th letter of the Hebrew alphabet is Tet.
OMG, THERE IS A MESSAGE HERE!! Somewhere. I can’t find any Hebrew words that start with Kaf, Tet, but we’ve got another 7 years before the next clue.
Oh, wait. The New Testament is is Greek. So that would make Kappa Theta. Maybe God is annoyed at a college sorority? Or actually, the Bible was handed down in King James English, which would mean the message starts with KH. Hmmm…
imrryr
August 31, 2012 at 1:02 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Off the top of my head:
1816 – The year without a summer
1900 – The Galveston hurricane
1906 – San Francisco earthquake
1930′s – The Dust Bowl
I’m sure other people here can name many more…
Timid Atheist
August 31, 2012 at 1:04 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
They’re forgetting Gustav, which was damaging on it’s own and landed on Sept. 1, 2008. Of course that doesn’t fit perfectly with their timeline so they can easily ignore it. The ones who survived all those hurricanes, however, can’t ignore it so easily.
John Pieret
August 31, 2012 at 1:05 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Hurricanes hitting a port on the Gulf of Mexico twice in a decade? Ooooohhh! Spooky!
Skip White
August 31, 2012 at 1:22 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Hell, I live in Pennsylvania and I can recall at least three hurricanes/tropical storms that hit here in the last 10 years, Isabel in 2003, and Irene and Lee last year.
theschwa
August 31, 2012 at 1:30 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Not being a Biblical scholar, I thought he created in 6 days and rested on the 7th? So, now NOT doing something is considered part of doing that something?
Stevarious
August 31, 2012 at 1:45 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Didn’t the ‘homosexual agenda’ in 2005 already include raping all the children and putting all the straight people that won’t convert into gulags? How did it get worse?
d cwilson
August 31, 2012 at 2:13 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Last year, there was a survey that declared Minneapolis to be the most gay-friendly city in America*. Anyone know how many hurricanes have hit Minnesota?
*Oddly enough, San Francisco, the city most people associate with gay-friendliness, didn’t even crack the top ten.
sc_2710bc2702bfc4869e449e7abed9f434
August 31, 2012 at 3:02 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
“Not being a Biblical scholar, I thought he created in 6 days and rested on the 7th? So, now NOT doing something is considered part of doing that something?”
That’s right. The same way praying for the homeless is exactly the same as building a house.
Gregory in Seattle
August 31, 2012 at 3:20 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
@theschwa #11 – On the seventh day, God created the Sabbath.
At least, that is what a Jewish friend once told me.
eoleen
August 31, 2012 at 3:55 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
John McTernan of the Defend and Proclaim the Faith website:
“Katrina was the greatest natural disaster ever to hit America. Now seven years later, to the day, another hurricane is heading towards this city. The fact the events are seven years apart is very significant as this number is biblically important. It is the number of completion: God created the universe in seven days. The church, city and nation have not repented and the homosexual agenda is far worse than it was in 2005.
The man is obviously deluded: the GREATEST disaster was…. Chicxulub: that one killed the dinosaurs.
The second in line I would guess to be the Yosemite disaster: that was one hellacious volcano…
naturalcynic
August 31, 2012 at 4:15 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
As Zinnia pointed out, Southern Decadence has been going on for 40 years. That changes the odds quite a bit.
justawriter
August 31, 2012 at 4:22 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Years ago, I came to the conclusion that between hurricanes in the old Confederacy and tornadoes in OK and KS and points east that the Great Spirit was trying his damndest to scrub this country clean of Southern Baptists. Sadly, it seems to be a stain that is too deeply set.
Moon Jaguar
August 31, 2012 at 4:48 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Again with the hurricanes? You’d think after 4,000 years that a diety would’ve developed better tools for punishing his wayward children.
Chiroptera
August 31, 2012 at 5:23 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Moon Jaguar, #19:
Yeah, you’d think that an omnipotent God could arrange it so that it hurricaned only over individual gay peoples’ homes or something.
geocatherder
August 31, 2012 at 5:32 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
If I were a believer, I might interpret a deity’s message as “BTW, this is a lousy place to build.”
Modusoperandi
August 31, 2012 at 9:07 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Worse? Yes, they changed brunch to a buffet! Damnit!
I missed PopHomoFestSoDec? I had my cos-play outfit all ready and everything! Damnit!
Michael Heath “Well God misses again since the gay enclaves didn’t suffer nearly as much as the poor urban parishes in Katrina and the rural area outside N.O. during Isaac.”
They have enclaves now? Damnit!
jnorris
August 31, 2012 at 9:43 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I am sure others have mentioned this, but Katrina destroyed low income, minority housing; not the gay areas of NO, like the french Quarter.
Did Issac targeting Teh Gay?
Bronze Dog
September 1, 2012 at 10:55 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I’m reminded of a D&D campaign concept I was working on for a while. Setting: Tropical islands ruled by an ogremage with lightning magic. The natives do everything they can to keep him placated, so that he doesn’t go into a rage and cause terrible storms that wreck the island villages.
The big reveal is that he’s largely limited to hurling a few lightning bolts a day, not summoning huge storms. He plans his rampages during natural, seasonal storms, directing his ‘random’ violence to include anyone trying to develop a more accurate calendar that would let them recognize his pattern and thus realize he’s merely a tough monster, not an invincible storm god.