# Is God mad at us? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 22, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431 "2006-11-22T16:14:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nothing\_Special](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@Nothing\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nothing_Special)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/1 "2006-11-22T16:14:18Z")
I first heard this question posed on one our morning news shows, 2 days in a row, more than 1 year ago after the hurricane Katrina disaster. The panel of experts consisted of Jerry Falwell (presumably speaking for God), Bill Nye the Science Guy (presumably speaking for science), and some lady (presumably because she was a lady of some sort). The conclusion seemed to be that, no, God isn’t exactly mad at us, but He is sending us some definite warnings to start turning our act around. Otherwise, there’ll be more bad stuff. My question is, if the above question is worth asking at all, shouldn’t we be asking it every single day in a public forum? Shouldn’t this be a regular feature of everyone’s day? Why did they stop after only 2 days? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/2 "2006-11-22T16:18:02Z")
Because if he’s mad at us, it’s best not to attract his attention. ---
**Author:** ![the\_PC\_apeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac8455/32.png) [@the\_PC\_apeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_PC_apeman)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/3 "2006-11-22T16:31:26Z")
[QUOTE=Nothing Special] My question is, if the above question is worth asking at all, shouldn’t we be asking it every single day in a public forum? [/QUOTE] Perhaps you’ve answered your own question. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/4 "2006-11-22T16:35:06Z")
I can say that Jerry Falwell doesn’t speak for my God. [QUOTE=Nothing Special] The conclusion seemed to be that, no, God isn’t exactly mad at us, but He is sending us some definite warnings to start turning our act around. Otherwise, there’ll be more bad stuff. [/QUOTE] Well, how do we do that? People disagree on what we ought to do to “turn our act around”. The Jerry Falwell types would say we should stop tolerating gays, while liberals like me think that we should stop hating people including gays. We obviously can’t do both. And some people would say we should turn our act around by burning fewer fossil fuels. ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/5 "2006-11-22T17:01:49Z")
No. He’s just mad at _you_. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/6 "2006-11-22T17:02:35Z")
Of course he’s mad at us. He’s been giving us the silent treatment for pretty much forever, hasn’t he? Not to mention that he hasn’t zapped Falwell with a lightning bolt yet. What more evidence would you want? ---
**Author:** ![Nothing\_Special](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@Nothing\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nothing_Special)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/7 "2006-11-22T17:15:52Z")
[QUOTE=Jayrot] No. He’s just mad at _you_. [/QUOTE] For what? ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/8 "2006-11-22T17:22:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by **Nothing Special** > For what? Because you touch yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Nothing\_Special](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@Nothing\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nothing_Special)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/9 "2006-11-22T17:28:16Z")
[QUOTE=Anne Neville] Well, how do we do that? People disagree on what we ought to do to “turn our act around”. The Jerry Falwell types would say we should stop tolerating gays, while liberals like me think that we should stop hating people including gays. We obviously can’t do both. And some people would say we should turn our act around by burning fewer fossil fuels. [/QUOTE] That’s my point, exactly. Why even bother to discuss the issue if there isn’t any God, and why drop it after 2 days if there is? If there is a God, we should be wondering like hell all the time if He’s pleased or displeased with our behavior as a human race. After all, he’d be calling the shots. And do you think that not being “hateful” toward anyone is more God-like (and hence approved of by God) than being intolerant of various practices that some of us consider disapproved of by God? ---
**Author:** ![Nothing\_Special](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@Nothing\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nothing_Special)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/10 "2006-11-22T17:33:56Z")
[QUOTE=pool] Because you touch yourself. [/QUOTE] Well, that much is true, but I only do so as a form of self-examination. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/11 "2006-11-22T17:35:29Z")
What do you mean, “us”, white man? ---
**Author:** ![Nothing\_Special](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@Nothing\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nothing_Special)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/12 "2006-11-22T17:38:33Z")
[QUOTE=Lemur866] What do you mean, “us”, white man? [/QUOTE] Those bad people who disapprove of anything at all. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/13 "2006-11-22T17:57:31Z")
Like any creative being, He has moved on to His next project. You don’t see Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. going back to tinker with _Cat’s Cradle_. We’re on our own. Humanity and our planet are flawed. Shit happens, and usually God is not involved. If he’s mad at us, it’s probably because we’re not as entertaining as he had hoped. He has nobody to blame for that but Himself. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/14 "2006-11-22T18:01:29Z")
How could you tell god is mad at us? What exactly do you mean by us? Us, this country, us human beings, us this church? Is every single bad thing that happens in nature god being mad at someone? If some of it is just random, how do you tell the difference? If god caused the rainbow to appear, then he caused the storm. People who invoke god in these situations amuse me. ---
**Author:** ![Nothing\_Special](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@Nothing\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nothing_Special)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/15 "2006-11-22T18:14:21Z")
[QUOTE=AskNott] Like any creative being, He has moved on to His next project. You don’t see Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. going back to tinker with _Cat’s Cradle_. [/QUOTE] Well, maybe he does and maybe he doesn’t. Just because you don’t _see_ him doing it doesn’t mean that he isn’t doing it. The author can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. [QUOTE=AskNott] We’re on our own. Humanity and our planet are flawed. Shit happens, and usually God is not involved. If he’s mad at us, it’s probably because we’re not as entertaining as he had hoped. He has nobody to blame for that but Himself. [/QUOTE] We are apparently entertained by musing upon God’s approval rating of us! Would He not find this entertaining at all? And if He’s moved on, what are we to do? Why was the topic dropped after only 2 days? We had experts working on it, in public! ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/16 "2006-11-22T18:16:59Z")
[QUOTE=Nothing Special] I first heard this question posed on one our morning news shows, 2 days in a row, more than 1 year ago after the hurricane Katrina disaster. The panel of experts consisted of Jerry Falwell (presumably speaking for God), Bill Nye the Science Guy (presumably speaking for science), and some lady (presumably because she was a lady of some sort). The conclusion seemed to be that, no, God isn’t exactly mad at us, but He is sending us some definite warnings to start turning our act around. Otherwise, there’ll be more bad stuff. My question is, if the above question is worth asking at all, shouldn’t we be asking it every single day in a public forum? Shouldn’t this be a regular feature of everyone’s day? Why did they stop after only 2 days? [/QUOTE] Maybe someone wised up and figured out if there WAS a god, and he GAVE a shit, we wouldn’t have had a hurricane in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Nothing\_Special](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@Nothing\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nothing_Special)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/17 "2006-11-22T18:25:03Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] Maybe someone wised up and figured out if there WAS a god, and he GAVE a shit, we wouldn’t have had a hurricane in the first place. [/QUOTE] Okay, but land needs fresh water in order to grow nice things that nourish and sustain us all. Would a mad God have done something so nice for us while simultaneousy doing something so mean to us? What’s up? ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/18 "2006-11-22T18:25:38Z")
[QUOTE=Nothing Special] For what? [/QUOTE] If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is, “God is crying.” And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is, “Probably because of something you did.” -Jack Handey ---
**Author:** ![Nothing\_Special](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@Nothing\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nothing_Special)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/19 "2006-11-22T18:28:07Z")
[QUOTE=HubZilla] If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is, “God is crying.” And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is, “Probably because of something you did.” -Jack Handey [/QUOTE] I wuz gonna post that, but you beat me to it. What did we do? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/20 "2006-11-22T18:29:26Z")
[QUOTE=Nothing Special] I first heard this question posed on one our morning news shows, 2 days in a row, more than 1 year ago after the hurricane Katrina disaster. The panel of experts consisted of Jerry Falwell (presumably speaking for God), Bill Nye the Science Guy (presumably speaking for science), and some lady (presumably because she was a lady of some sort). The conclusion seemed to be that, no, God isn’t exactly mad at us, but He is sending us some definite warnings to start turning our act around. Otherwise, there’ll be more bad stuff. My question is, if the above question is worth asking at all, shouldn’t we be asking it every single day in a public forum? Shouldn’t this be a regular feature of everyone’s day? Why did they stop after only 2 days? [/QUOTE] Well… since the last book in the Bible was written ~1,600 years ago, and no “official” word from the guy since… I’d say _something_ happened. But not lately, not in the past few years. Look at what people were doing in 400ce and try to figure out why God got pissed at _them_ to stop talking to us. You’d think that killing his son thing would’ve done the trick, but apparently not. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431.md?page=2)