For example, the famed Christian apologist Tertullian, who lived in the second and third centuries, complained that Christians were being blamed for natural calamities: “They [the pagans] think the Christians the cause of every public disaster, of every affliction with which the people are visited … If the heavens give no rain, if there is an earthquake, if there is famine or pestilence, straightaway the cry is, ‘Away with the Christians to the lion!’”

Sadly, this blame game continues in modern America. However, now it’s the Christians who habitually and enthusiastically blame despised minorities.

Michael Marcavage, director of the Christian organization “Repent America,” believed that homosexuals were responsible for Hurricane Katrina. Marcavage asserted, “Let us not forget that the citizens of New Orleans tolerated and welcomed the wickedness in their city for so long. May this act of God cause us all to think about what we tolerate in our city limits.”

An October 2007 opinion column in The American Chronicle, “Global Warming: A Consequence Of Apostasy In The USA and The World,” focused blame for climate change and erratic weather patterns on immorality, toleration of sin, and, of course, promotion of evolutionary theory.

This type of idiocy is quite common in fundamentalist Christian writing and speech. It can be found even in positions of political influence.

An article from WorldNetDaily.com titled “Senator: God judging U.S. with disastrous hurricanes” quoted Alabama Republican state Sen. Hank Erwin speaking about hurricanes Katrina and Rita: “New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf coast have always been known for gambling, sin and wickedness the kind of behavior that ultimately brings the judgment of God.”

Similarly, just days following the recent devastating fires in California, assorted Christian blogs were already blaming California’s tolerance of homosexuality for God’s wrath.

Many believers seem convinced that natural calamitous events are the product of an invisible and vengeful god. I find it incredibly distressing that multitudes of modern Americans embrace such unsophisticated and foolish nonsense.

Earlier this year, I tracked news reports containing the words, “church” and “lightning” or “church” and “tornado” and published a few instances on my blog. Let me tell you, there’s absolutely no shortage of churches being leveled by “acts of god.” It happens all the time, yet I’ve never noticed Christians reflectively asking, “Why does God hate our churches?”

My favorite story was of a lightning bolt striking a 33-foot marble statue of Jesus. The Jesus statue was alone on a small hilltop, minding its own business, when a lightning bolt shot from the sky, striking and damaging the graven image. Was this strike an act of divine electrical justice? Perhaps Thor himself delivered it. I defy anyone to prove that Thor doesn’t exist or that he wasn’t behind the brutal attack on “Marble Jesus,” expressing anger toward the flagrant worship of a false deity.

Sorry, I became swept up in the foolishness.

Fundamentalist Christians doubtless view the Jesus statue lightning strike as a random act of nature rather than a supernatural smackdown. However, I sincerely doubt that would be their position if a statue of Charles Darwin received a blast from above.

I’m painfully aware that most Americans aren’t psychologically prepared to embrace a naturalistic and evidence-based worldview. However, perhaps someday all religious Americans will take a baby step toward rationality and put to rest the absurdly silly and utterly anachronistic belief that weather events have a supernatural or divine agenda.

John Bice is a State News columnist and MSU staff member. Reach him at bice@msu.edu.