The UK weather is God's judgement on us

Whenever there are natural disasters, someone seems to be there, claiming that they are God's judgement on us for some perceived sinfulness - usually about gays. Which is, of course, utter drivel, for reasons that I have been into before, and will probably have to go into again.

It is interesting that there doesn't seem to be anyone claiming that the storms in the UK are Gods judgement on us because of the governments appalling treatment of the poor, the disabled, the strangers, those in need. The continual pampering to the rich, the powerful at the expense of the poor is, from a biblical perspective, a far more common reason for divine judgement. Again and again, God tells the people that behaving in a way that is very reminiscent of the current government will result in judgement.

In fact, if you want to take one thing from across the bible that is repeatedly, universally condemned and criticised, it is not homosexuality, it is greed, abuse of the poor and needy.

That is, of course, a very simplistic reading of the bible, and I disapprove of proof-texting things I agree with as much as ones I don't agree with.

However, what is also true is that I don't believe in this concept of "God's Judgement" - that God explicitly sends bad weather to a country because of its failings. I think that the biblical material can also be interpreted in different ways - it is not that I don't accept the biblical texts, but that the way we understand them may be different. It is more that the judgement is a result of the failing to behave in a responsible way.

I think that the same can be considered in the UK. The chaos that we see in the West Country especially can be seen as a result of the failure to invest in those parts of the country. The collapse of the mainline into Cornwall is - partly - the result of there being a single line down there. There have been calls even before this to provide an alternative route down into Cornwall. Now, the results are that the county is cut off from the rest of the country.

Failing to invest in the Somerset levels has been part of the cause of the massive flooding, and the evacuation there this weekend. Failing to acknowledge the environment impact of doing nothing, and of doing some of the things that have been done.

So is the storm chaos a judgement from God? No, not as that is properly understood. Is it a judgement on the blindness, arrogance, the self-serving attitude that this government shows.