Whose fault is it that Queensland is being flooded and people are drowning?

Why Queensland?

Self-styled “Pastor” Daniel Nalliah said the other day on his website, “We had a strong prompting by the Holy Spirit to repent on behalf of Australia. As we started doing so, I was reminded that every time America went against Israel, there was disaster in the land . . . .

 “Then I was reminded of Kevin Rudd speaking against Israel on December 14. It is very interesting that Kevin Rudd is from Queensland . . . .

“Is God trying to get our attention? Yes, I believe so.”

* * *

Mr Nalliah once famously claimed that the Victorian bushfires were God’s punishment for Victoria for having passed abortion laws permitting late-term babies to be aborted by the head-crushing “partial-birth” abortion technique . . . .

Yes, that law certainly seems to cry out for divine retribution.

But it’s hard to be sure that the Black Saturday fires had anything to do with it.

* * *

The Bible records what Jesus said about this subject.

Gospel of Saint Luke:

“Some people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. He said, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered like that they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!’

“Or those eighteen people killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them – were they more guilty than everyone else living in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!’”

By “repenting”, Jesus means feeling sorrow for having done something that offends God – plus a resolution to avoid situations where we are likely to fall into sin again.

* * *

If God sent a major natural disaster every time our community flouted his laws, there would be disasters every day and we’d have been wiped out long ago.

We probably deserve worse than what we get.

Final justice comes after this life.