Texas Governor and the Hurricane

Texas Governor Rick Perry has been heavily courting the religious community in his hopes of getting re-elected next year. At the same time his state is welcoming many of the survivors from Hurricane Katrina. It seems those two priorities are now in conflict.

Perry attended a rally recently where Dwight McKissic, senior pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, suggested that God sent Hurricane Katrina to "to purify our nation." Welcome to Ethics Daily.com!

McKissic also stated:

"At some point, God will hold us accountable for our sins."

"They have devil worship. They advertise 'Sin City' tours. They celebrate Southern decadence. Girls go wild in New Orleans."


Perry has not condemned the statements. His spokesman said:

"The governor does not agree with that. ...But far be it for the governor to try to divine the will of the Almighty. Americans of all faiths need to come together at this point in time to help the victims of this tragedy."

Sounds like a cop-out!


Thankfully, there are some Christians that are holding Perry accountable.

Robert Parham of the Baptist Center for Ethics said:

If the governor disagrees, why doesn't he say so? ...Let his yes be yes and his no be no."

It is time for each of us to reject the rhetoric of McKissic and others!