Are Locusts Next?

MANY RELIGIOUS PEOPLE WOULD CONSIDER IT HERESY TO THINK GOD WOULD PUNISH INNOCENT PEOPLE FOR THE ACTIONS OF OTHERS. SOME, HOWEVER, SEEM TO BELIEVE THE MIDWEST'S FLOODS REPRESENT DIVINE RETRIBUTION:

"We can look at natural disasters of recent years in America and be reminded that we are in total subservience to a sovereign God who might be a bit unhappy with our treatment of the unborn and the trashing of the Judeo- Christian ethic." -- The Rev. Jerry Falwell

"Only Allah can bring the rain and only Allah can stop it. In dealing with Pharaoh, Allah sent signs ... in direct connection with his rebellion and his transgression ... It's just as evident and clear today." -- Imam Jamil al- Amin (formerly H. Rap Brown), who suggests that the floods are punishment for the killing of innocent Muslims during the Persian Gulf war.

"The more it rains and the more it floods, the more I think God is trying to tell us something. Recently Missouri and Illinois have allowed riverboat gambling on the Mississippi River." -- Judy Martin, Alton, Illinois, resident, in a letter to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.