But I’m convinced there’s no greater righteousness to be found on Earth than in North America. That’s a lament, not a boast.

I am reminded of Abraham and the three angels, and am comforted that there are probably more than five righteous men even in San Francisco.

Today, the inhabitants of this land are a mixed bag. Some serve him, some attempt to, others ignore him, some unknowingly while others intentionally do things that tick him off.

I wonder what the tipping point is. I don’t know how God collectively judges a whole group of people (nor individuals for that matter), other than the scriptures that speak of a group being “ripe in iniquity”. I don’t know how the divine measuring stick is calibrated nor applied.

I haven’t listened to his entire sermon, but I did listen to his “God damn America” line in context. And I have to admit that when taken in context, it is strikingly similar to Leviticus 26, 2 Nephi 1:20, and Alma 45:15-16.

Jeremiah Wright merely called upon God to fulfill his scriptural promises.

This is not to say that every natural disaster or calamity is a punishment from God. The Lord causes his rain to fall upon both the wicked and the just.

Though modern day preachers and prophets have offered some well-reasoned and scripturally-supported speculation, the scriptures themselves are silent about the problem of innocent babies dieing in the Flood along with their wicked parents.

But using natural disasters (famine, drought, pestilence) for punishing a group for collective sins is straight out of the scriptures.

Raising up a group of “bad guys” (Assyrians, Babylonians, Lamanites) to physically attack (“scourge”) those who have turned their back on the Lord also has precedent in both Old World and New World scriptures.

It is not for us to judge the victims of natural disaster. But perhaps those who have the capacity to offer relief are being judged for their response.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2010/01/haiti-earthquake-blame-game-god-or-the-devil/1