On Friday, during the Pray Vote Stand Summit hosted by Christian hate-group Family Research Council, Oklahoma Senator James Lankford claimed that God showed approval for his state’s extreme abortion ban by… making it rain.
Speaking with FRC president Tony Perkins, Lankford insisted the rain was a clear and literal sign from above:
PERKINS: … I believe that as these states embrace Biblical truth as it pertains to life, that I believe God’s gonna bless those nations—or those, those states—as those states come in alignment with God, I believe it’s going to be a testimony to the rest of the nation. Again, another sign of God’s mercy that He will pour out His blessing on those that choose to walk in His way.
LANKFORD: I agree. I agree. And… that’s not some radical principle, just for people to be faithful and for God to bless them. I mean, it’s just the most basic principle of all. As funny as it sounds, we’ve experienced a big drought in Oklahoma. The week after—the week after—we passed this law to be able to protect the lives of children, we had the most overwhelming rainstorm that came across the state, and it was such an interesting conversation among people in the church, like, “Did that just happen? Did that just occur?”
Just for background, in mid-May, Oklahoma’s Republican-dominated legislature passed a bill that effectively banned the procedure throughout the state passed a bill banning nearly all abortions from fertilization onward, except to save the life of the mother or in cases of (officially reported) rape or incest. It also allowed individuals to sue anyone involved in the procedure. Gov. Kevin Stitt signed it into law on May 25.
And a couple of weeks after that, there was rain across Oklahoma. Heavy rain, actually. Calling it an “overwhelming rainstorm” is an understatement. God apparently made it rain so hard, it flooded several major cities and destroyed crops that farmers were relying on.
Kevin Marshall, owner of Indigo Acres, said lettuce is his top cash crop but it’s the plant most affected by the rain. He said he’s lost around $5,000 in profit in the last week from the rain.
“To pour your heart and soul into it and have the weather come along and in a matter of hours destroy six months of work,” said Marshall. “Most farmers don’t make money year round. A lot of the produce farmers work and make their money in about a four-to-five-month period. It’s very important in the prime season to do the best they can.”
So the rain may have come after the drought—which is how chronological time works—but it wasn’t the kind of pleasant rain that people were clamoring for. The weather went from one extreme to the other, and Lankford, a climate denier, treated it as a religious gift.
Even if James Lankford were right, though, what’s the explanation for why God waited a week or two after the abortion bill was signed to deliver the rain? Why didn’t God sent it right after the bill signing? Why was there even a drought when Oklahoma has the most extreme anti-abortion laws on the books?
It doesn’t matter because Lankford is just making everything up. If women are suffering, and children are forced to give birth against their will, conservative Christians will always find a way to celebrate.
(Thanks to Kyle for the link)