Every religious tradition has its own media outlets. There are official publications. There are unofficial publications. In the Mormon tradition, The Ensign is the official publication. Among the unofficial publications is Merdian. Recently the following appeared in Meridian:

George Mason, a Virginia delegate at the Constitutional Convention reminds us of something every activist, for or against gay marriage, ought to consider: “As nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, they must be [punished] in this. By an inevitable chain of causes & effects providence punishes national sins, by national calamities.”

Does that sound familiar to anyone else? I’ll give you a hint: Jerry Falwell, Sept. 13, 2001. It seems obvious this fear of Divine Retribution is solidly entrenched in the minds of many Christian adherents and this fear knows no boundaries between traditions. It also seems to have no basis in logic whatsoever.

Scripture is replete with passages describing God withholding his support from nations steeped in wickedness. People seem to have extrapolated from these passages that God is just waiting to smack anyone who steps out of line. I just don’t get that. For one, how can you worship a God like that? I’ve always found it interesting that people seem to worship the God that reflects their own personalities. You have nut jobs like Fred Phelps who preaches a God of anger and hatred, a God just waiting to toss everyone but Fred and his followers straight down to Hell. Most Mormons worship a God of tough love. I’ve always seen God as a benevolent being, one who has seen fit to reach into our sphere and give us some guidelines for getting through life with a minimum of fuss.

Regardless of the God you worship, application of the Smack Down Theory just doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense. For starters what is meant by “national calamities?” Let’s start by ruling out natural disasters. Nature is a vastly complex system and God has intervened on barely a handful of occasions, the most notable being the death of His Son. A few years ago a freak tornado moved through Salt Lake City. It happened to demolish one of the oldest gay bars in town. Naturally there was all kinds of talk about the wrath of God. Never mind that the same tornado also moved through Temple Square and took out the olive tree next to which my ex-wife and I had our wedding pictures taken, then moved on and demolished Memory Grove, a war memorial. How exactly does that work? God sent the tornado to take out a gay bar, but did damage to sacred grounds just so He would not appear to be playing favorites? Doesn’t that sort of contradict the whole punishment thing?

I do think that the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 do qualify as a national calamity. They were attacks aimed directly at the spirit of our nation. (Jerry’s only fault seems to be that he speaks his mind without thinking it through first.) If indeed God is punishing the U.S. for our wickedness, or merely withholding his blessing as Jerry later asserted, then how does one explain the war in Iraq? By any estimation, that conflict has gone remarkably well. God certainly seems to have been on our side. Or does He really take sides?

Saddam was a victim of his own hubris. I’m not really convinced Divine Retribution had anything to do with it. Since God does encourage humility and benevolence, and Saddam was arrogant, violent and cruel one could argue that Saddam was “punished for his sins.” It’s more likely that Saddam was so blinded by his own sense of self importance, he grossly underestimated his enemy. Fairly simple case of cause and effect. God has provided us guidelines for living a good life. If you choose not to follow the guidelines, nature will take its course and eventually catch up with you…or not. One of the questions religious people through the ages have struggled with is why the wicked seem to prosper when the righteous often get it in the teeth. Following God’s guidelines guarantees only a minimum of self inflicted pain. We have no control over the actions of others and God does not interfere with anyone’s free will.

One final note: Since this comment was made in the context of a Mormon publication and since the comment was specifically aimed at the current marriage debate, I would like to point out a small sermon given in Mormon scripture by one King Benjamin, wherein he states it is not up to you to decide who is worthy of your grace and benevolence. It’s Mosiah 4:17-23 in case you are not familiar with it. For those of you who have issues with Mormon scripture, try Matthew 7:1-2.