Oil spill may awaken Christians’ ecological conscience

August 21, 2010
By Ray Column
The Tennessean

A low moment early in the agonized public reaction to the Gulf oil disaster was when Texas Governor Rick Perry suggested the deadly explosion and poisonous spill were acts of God.

He was referring to the contractual, legal definition — act of God as an extraordinary, unforeseen natural event beyond our control. But it trivialized the divine name to drag it into a human-made mess. As if to say: sooner blame God than an oil company.