Franklin Graham weighs in on whether God is 'judging' Hollywood with Calif. fires

[Michie]

Evangelist Franklin Graham has weighed in on whether or not God is “judging” Hollywood as fires continue to ravage Los Angeles, destroying entire communities and leaving thousands homeless.

“People have lost everything. A lot of people are asking ‘Why?’ and that’s a hard question to answer. We want to reassure them of God’s love — that He cares for them and that He hasn’t turned His back on them,” Graham, the CEO of Samaritan's Purse, saidwhen asked about the fires, which have killed at least 24 people and swept through 40,000 acres in the Greater Los Angeles area.

"Could God be judging Hollywood? I don't know, but I don't think so,” he continued.

Continued below.

Franklin Graham weighs in on whether God is 'judging' Hollywood with Calif. fires

Evangelist Franklin Graham has weighed in on whether or not God is judging Hollywood as fires continue to ravage Los Angeles, destroying entire communities and leaving thousands homeless

www.christianpost.com

 

[FAITH-IN-HIM]

Another wealthy religious leader seeking relevance.

Is God judging us? Of course He is.

Is God punishing Hollywood? No one knows, including Franklin Graham.

 

[Michie]

As a California native, lifelong resident, and someone who lives relatively close to Los Angeles, it's a little hard to comprehend the “apocalyptic” and “warzone” scenes that are unfolding from the wildfires.

“Yeah, it’s ugly. It looks like a warzone, without a firefighter in sight. It’s crazy," my family members in LA tell me.

Unfortunately, tragedies are nothing new in this life. And when they happen the natural human reaction is to ask why.

Continued below.

As a Californian Christian, I'm asking gov't why but not God

And this, in my opinion, is what is at the center of the frustration and anger coming from Californians

www.christianpost.com

 

[RileyG]

Another wealthy religious leader seeking relevance.

Is God judging us? Of course He is.

Is God punishing Hollywood? No one knows, including Franklin Graham.

I agree completely.

 

[SeekFirst0]

Another wealthy religious leader seeking relevance.

Is God judging us? Of course He is.

Is God punishing Hollywood? No one knows, including Franklin Graham.

^This.

 

[Michie]

I liked the perspective of the second article.

 

[FAITH-IN-HIM]

As Christians, we all face tragedies and often ask God, "Why me, Lord?" Sometimes God explains, but often He remains silent.

In those silent moments, the only source of comfort I find is in this verse from Psalms.

Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God;”

 

[Vambram]

Another wealthy religious leader seeking relevance.

Is God judging us? Of course He is.

Is God punishing Hollywood? No one knows, including Franklin Graham.

Franklin Graham ain't seeking relevance.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

As nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, they must be in this.
By an inevitable chain of causes & effects providence punishes national sins, by national calamities.
George Mason​

It does not have to be a direct judgment from God. There is evidence that when the land is made sick by the abominations that are committed upon it, that land will seek to "vomit" out the inhabitants. Vomiting is a natural reflex against the ingestion of poison and sickness.

Leviticus 18:25-28 KJV
25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.
26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:
27 (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled
28 That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.

Leviticus 20:22 KJV
22 Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.

The Land Wants Rest
Leviticus 26:43 GNB
43. First, however, the land must be rid of its people, so that it can enjoy its complete rest, and they must pay the full penalty for having rejected my laws and my commands.
I believe that this verse pertains to all entities whether they be individuals, families, communities, regions or nations.

Galatians 6
7. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

So, it is not necessarily God who is handing down these calamities. In most cases, I think God is holding nature back because of the prayers and intercessions of the saints. At some point, mercy turns into license, and license becomes an entitlement, entitlement becomes sin, sin abomination, death, and wickedness. I believe we are there. God's hand holding nature back from spuing the people out is being withdrawn. It will only get worse unless there is some supernatural intervention by God and the people repent.

2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV
14. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

 

[Aaron112]

Is God punishing Hollywood? No one knows, including Franklin Graham.

Better devastation now on earth than later, for both.

 

[HarleyER]

Another wealthy religious leader seeking relevance.

Is God judging us? Of course He is.

Is God punishing Hollywood? No one knows, including Franklin Graham.

God is NOT judging us. When God DOES judge us people will not be asking that question.

What God does do is try to lovingly draw people to Him through hardships simply because that is the ONLY way He can get our attention. (Amos 4). When things are good, people walk away from God. When adversity strikes, they seek God. Once can only pray that through this tragedy that people will come to know Jesus Christ as Savior.

 

[RileyG]

God is NOT judging us. When God DOES judge us people will not be asking that question.

What God does do is try to lovingly draw people to Him through hardships simply because that is the ONLY way He can get our attention. (Amos 4). When things are good, people walk away from God. When adversity strikes, they seek God. Once can only pray that through this tragedy that people will come to know Jesus Christ as Savior.

I'm not sure I understand you????

God is all-knowing, so, for a lack of a better term, he is judging us 24/7.

As human beings, we cannot comprehend the mind of God.

We are finite.

 

[FAITH-IN-HIM]

God is NOT judging us. When God DOES judge us people will not be asking that question.

What God does do is try to lovingly draw people to Him through hardships simply because that is the ONLY way He can get our attention. (Amos 4). When things are good, people walk away from God. When adversity strikes, they seek God. Once can only pray that through this tragedy that people will come to know Jesus Christ as Savior.

By asserting that God can only capture our attention through hardships, you are implying limitations on His power. If this were accurate, then it would suggest that the so-called sovereign God is not as omnipotent as believed.

It is true that throughout the Bible, there are accounts of God bringing hardships to people to draw their attention to Him or to turn them towards Him. However, this is not necessarily the only option God has. If it were, He would not be a sovereign God.


One of the challenges throughout Christian history is understanding God. We have the Bible, history, and experience that help us comprehend God's purpose and the reasons behind certain actions.

Despite all the knowledge and wisdom in the world, we cannot fully understand God or His actions.

When tragedy strikes, we, as fallible humans, seek answers and explanations. We attempt to rationalize God's actions through our own understanding and justify them because we are often too afraid or too proud to admit, "I don't know why God is doing this, but I will trust Him anyway”.

 

[Michie]

From the op:

"Could God be judging Hollywood? I don't know, but I don't think so,” he continued.

“The question is, do we know the Lord Jesus Christ? Are we prepared to stand before Him? If our house was burned and we were burned up in it, would we go into His presence? Would God receive us? And the only way we can be sure is by confessing our sins and asking for His forgiveness and by faith, believing on the name of the Lord Jesus, Christ, who took our sins and died on a cross. He was buried, and on the third day, God raised him to life. And if we're willing to believe that, just accept that by faith and ask Christ into our hearts, then God will forgive our sins. We can have that assurance, knowing that whatever storms come our way in life, we'll be prepared to stand before God."

Graham emphasized that modern technology amplifies the visibility of natural disasters like wildfires, making them seem more prevalent than in the past. While acknowledging that such storms will continue, he stressed the importance of sharing the message of God's love.

Nothing wrong with this message imo. He was asked, he gave a good answer.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

I sometimes think of life as a road off into the future. On one side is a steep bank covered with thorns, thistles, and thick brush. On the other side is a deep ditch filled with a swamp of filthy water filled with vile creatures. One side will drive you back, falling and tumbling to the road, and the other will send you fleeing and crawling back. Either way, the world is designed to keep you on the road. We perceive the hinderments on either side to be judgments and punishments. They are actually permeable walls that, while you are free to proceed as your free will allows, they are also designed to guide and educate you on the foolhardiness of your departure from the straight and narrow.

 

[HarleyER]

By asserting that God can only capture our attention through hardships, you are implying limitations on His power.

Not at all. If you read the book of Judges, this happened repeatedly. Everything was going great for Israel, they turned their back on God, God brought some disaster on them (e.g. Meads, Philistines, etc.), they returned to God.

The interesting thing in the book of Judges is that things progressively got worst.

I'm not saying that this is ALWAYS the way God works. God can work through godly parents or good situations. But it is more likely people will turn to God through adversity.

 

[FAITH-IN-HIM]

Not at all. If you read the book of Judges, this happened repeatedly. Everything was going great for Israel, they turned their back on God, God brought some disaster on them (e.g. Meads, Philistines, etc.), they returned to God.

The interesting thing in the book of Judges is that things progressively got worst.

I'm not saying that this is ALWAYS the way God works. God can work through godly parents or good situations. But it is more likely people will turn to God through adversity.

I don’t disagree with you. As I wrote in my previous post , throughout the Bible, there are accounts of God bringing hardships to people to draw their attention to Him or to turn them towards Him.

However, as you mentioned, hardship is not always how God works to get our attention.

The Book of Job serves as an illustration that even righteous individuals may encounter adversity.