Rain Rain Go Away

I want to stress that there is nothing funny about the crippling drought that is currently affecting the state of Georgia. It's truly hurting a lot of people, and that's no laughing matter.

The timeline of Sonny Perdue's rain-prayer, however, is quite funny:

1. Georgia is in severe drought
2. Governor Perdue decides to pray for rain on Tuesday
3. Forecast called for rain Tuesday
4. Prayer service goes ahead as planned
5. Skies completely clear up immediately following prayer service
6. No rain

Maybe God doesn't like ostentatious displays of religiosity? Or maybe he just doesn't like Sonny Perdue?

PS: I was going to tag this post "climate", but then had to correct myself and write "weather", as the former would have been technically inaccurate. Score one for my Conservation Biology course!

God and the Media

Ezra Klein:

The media's treated in rather the opposite way that God is in sports. A player, at the end of a successful game, will turn to the camera, lift his eyes, and thanks the heavenly father for helping his team put more balls in baskets than their opponents were able to manage. You'll never hear his opponents turn and say, "well, I guess Jesus really had it in for us today."

Conversely, no winning candidate mounts the stage on election night and says, "I'd like to thank the media, whose affection for my candidacy proved so crucial in turning public opinion against my opponent." But they should!

I'm getting eerie memories of the incessant "I'd like to have a beer with W" narrative from 2000....

The Trial of God

One of my favorite pieces of literature of all time is Elie Wiesel's play The Trial of God. It's very intense, very deep, very theologically challenging, and very, very, good.

Today, in a lighter vein, Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers has announced he is suing God, "seek[ing] a permanent injunction ordering God to cease certain harmful activities and the making of terroristic threats." Though the point is to make a statement about frivolous lawsuits, Chambers has gone ahead and filed the case.

I've always thought it would be a neat law review article to try and tease out the various procedural and substantive questions that might be raised by a "trial of God." More of a fun-piece than a tenure-piece, but you never know: even the perfect crime article saw its day in court.