Divine Providence and drought

The drought that never left
Schwarzenegger Wants State Water Plan
Schwarzenegger plans to call for more canals
Governor pitches $6 billion water plan
Drought emergency declaration to be sought

The Governator gave a conference today, saying that another year of drought-like conditions will be ruinous.

Two errors need to be avoided.
1. The errors of naturalists/atheists (who deny there is a God) and of deists subscribing to a mechanist view of the universe--there is nothing God can do to change what is happening, and prayers are useless. The "laws of nature" trump all. Therefore the only thing that can be done is to find some sort of human solution, however "distasteful" it may seem to our "sense of morality."

R: However, if God is in charge, could he not bring it about that California gets the rain it needs? Especially if water is necessary for human survival? Does not God care about us? That brings us to the other error--

2. God is all-loving and does not punish.

R: It seems right to continue to hold God does use natural calamities as a punishment for sin. And so, the sooner we recognize that we have gone astray, ask for God's forgiveness, and make amendment of life, the better.

Is it too late for the bishops of California to start having prayers said for an end to the drought and for rains to come? Do we need to wait for "rain season" to come in order to do this? Would rain be impossible during the Summer? Perhaps not--how can we possibly understand the "variables" God has introduced in the interactions between His creatures?

(However, even if God does provide, He is not required to provide the maximum amount of help. He may leave the conditions of local ecosystems relatively unchanged--and so we may be forced to recognize that Southern California cannot support its current population, and therefore human legislation must do something about this. Of course, if all of Southern California converted and asked Him to transform the climate, perhaps He would be so merciful as to grant their request. I wouldn't want to put limits to His generosity either.)



NBC Nightly News did a follow-up story on a shipment of ice requestioned by FEMA for Katrina relief. It started off in Wisconsin, travelled all around the South, went to Louisiana, then Texas. It is now on its way to Pennsylvania, where it will be "destroyed," having been deemed unfit for human consumption. The total cost to the U.S. taxpayer? $36 million. Unbelievable. Another illustration why relocalization and self-sufficiency is needed.