BREAKING NEWS: More than 109 people were killed in the Texas Hill Country after a killer wave swept over the region. At least 161 people are still missing. This page will be continuously updated with new information and click here to get our breaking news alerts delivered directly to your inbox.
The devastation in the Texas Hill Country is more than any of us can imagine.
More than 100 people were swept away by a giant wall of water over the weekend and more than 160 people are still missing.
Many of those killed were young girls and their counselors at Camp Mystic – a summer retreat and a family tradition for generations of Texans.
It’s impossible for us to understand the why. The answer is well beyond our human understanding. Questions that can only be addressed in Holy Scripture.
And that’s why Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a call to prayer on Sunday – a proclamation urging Texans and all Americans to ask for God’s intervention – to comfort grieving parents with His tender mercies.
“Texans are known for their faith, strength, and resilience,” said Gov. Abbott. “Even as floodwaters raged, neighbors rushed in to rescue, comfort, and bring hope. In times of loss, we turn to God for comfort, healing, and strength. I urge every Texan to join me in prayer this Sunday—for the lives lost, for those still missing, for the recovery of our communities, and for the safety of those on the front lines.”
As the governor correctly pointed out, prayer works.
“I urge Texans of all faiths and religious traditions and backgrounds to offer prayers on that day for the healing of individuals, safety of our first responders and public safety officers, rebuilding of communities, and restoration of the region struck by this disaster,” the governor wrote in his proclamation.
The governor’s message hit all the right notes – in tone, tenor and theology. But that message enraged atheists from around the nation.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a formal letter to the governor calling his remarks insensitive and unconstitutional. The Wisconsin-based atheists blasted the governor for using a natural disaster to promote religion.
“Your prayer proclamation does nothing to help those currently suffering or prevent similar devastation in the future,” the letter states. “As governor, you have many tools to actually help prepare for weather-related disasters, and you should use these tools rather than using your office and state resources to promote your personal religious beliefs.”
FFRF co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor even suggested that God was to blame for the death and destruction in the Texas Hill Country.
“Abbott’s statements are part of the ‘God always gets the credit, never the blame’ phenomenon,” the atheist snarled. “If God was watching out, why did he allow the Guadalupe River to rise 22 feet over a couple of hours in the first place? Why did this all-powerful, all-seeing deity allow 27 campers and counselors at a Christian camp to be tragically swept away? Abbott can’t have it both ways.”
Gaylor’s remarks were cold and heartless and it’s exactly what one would expect from a godless heathen with a hardened heart.