I’m not a big fan of WNBA.
Call me sexist or whatever. I just don’t like to watch it. I also have other (personal/biased/not any good) reasons too.

I didn’t even want to blog about this.
But.
Be quick to listen and slow to speak…

Of course. I realize how hypocritical this post may be… but it’s my blog. I was reading blogs and posts on google reader, when I saw the post about WNBA player, Cappie Pondexter (on deadspin.com) tweeting about things she just shouldn’t tweet about:

“maybe god was tired of the way they treated there own people”
“they did pearl harbor so u can’t expect anything less”

and when someone complained, she replies:
“r u jap?”

Nice. (This is the same person that wanted more than a suspension for Don Imus)

Look. I know that I may be setting myself up for being ignorant, hateful and whatever by responding to this.
But, it just annoys  me that people are soooo quick to label such tragedies as punishments from God.

That’s just not the case.
Take a look at this from Luke 13:

¹ Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. ² Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? ³ I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? ⁵ I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

I don’t know how you would read that passage, but it sounds like Jesus is saying that those people died that way regardless of their sin. They weren’t being punished for being sinners, or being punished as a retribution for a past crime.

I get that for some people, to deal with such massive tragedy, they need to put the reality in some sort of box. And for some of those people, I guess they can wrap their heads around horrific tragedies by saying it’s God’s wrath burning against those suffering.
But that’s just foolish. Those very people will rise up in fist and arms in anger if the same thing was alluded about us during the 9/11 attacks… I’m just sayin’.

Anyway.
This is bad theology.
This is dangerous theology.
This isn’t a punishment.
I believe that God is weeping with the very people He loves.
I believe that God is still moving through people all over the world to respond to this tragedy and help out in every way that we can.

The first general rule of Methodism is:
Do No Harm.
Please, I beg you people, not to do harm with irresponsible theology. We are called to love. Not punish. Not to exact retribution. But to love the very people that God loves (not just those you love.)

The second rule is: Do Good.
There are ways that we can do “good”, as helpless as we may feel.
www.umcor.org
www.redcross.org

Let’s be responsible Disciples of Christ and do our best to help bring about healing and restoration.