God Smites Georgia

Just outside the Georgia capitol building, Governor Sonny Perdue led his state in an official prayer for rain this week. As most people know by now, Georgia is suffering from a potentially catastrophic drought, and Perdue decided to seek divine intervention. Appealing to a higher power for rain is an age-old human tradition, one perhaps best illustrated in the form of the Native American rain dance. So, the Republican Governor led a gathering of lawmakers, ministers and ordinary citizens in a direct and specific request to God.

"Oh father, we acknowledge our wastefulness," Perdue said. "But we're doing better. And I thought it was time to acknowledge that to the creator, the provider of water and land, and to tell him that we will do better."

Nay sayers attacked the proceedings on several points:

"The governor is exceeding his constitutional authority," said Ed Buckner, an atheist and treasurer of the group [The Atlanta Freethought Society]. "He has no right to set up prayer services on behalf of the people of Georgia, particularly not on the grounds of the state Capitol."

At the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's blog, one reader took issue with the Governor's actions from a theological perspective:

"God is not an ATM machine you can go to and get whatever you need whenever you ask for it."

So did the prayer work? While there were trace amounts of rain the following day, the science-based forecast for the rest of the week puts the chance of further precipitation at 10% or less. As attorney Gil Rogers sees it, whether or not a few drops fall from the sky this week or the next is beside the point:

"We shouldn't look at it as 'Once the rains come we'll be fine,'" he said. "We'd like to see rain, but this doesn't get us any closer to sustaining water management in Georgia."

Lastly, the people over at the site Why Won't God Heal Amputees? have posted a video with their take on the efficacy on prayer. I'm guessing Sonny Perdue hasn't seen it.