‘So who did what?’

And why? Interesting speculation from GetReligion…

“…about that timely tornado that hit Minneapolis during the much-publicized convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You may recall that oceans of ink were spilled about that gathering because of the vote to ordain as clergy gays, lesbians and bisexuals who are living in lifelong, faithful, monogamous same-sex unions.

[Colulmnist Marvin] Olasky notes that:

No severe weather warnings were in place, and no tornado had come into downtown Minneapolis for a long time — at least 90 years, according to one archivist. Nevertheless, as delegates met, a tornado damaged the roof of the Minneapolis convention center where they were meeting and knocked the cross off the host church next door.

Doing a quick media survey, Olasky notes that there were three journalistic options in writing about the tornado and the vote in the ELCA gathering. Please note that these are journalistic options within, let’s say, liberal and conservative approaches to “European” journalism and the more neutral “American” model.

So what are the three options?

Right: It is acceptable to say that God sent the storm to express displeasure with the ELCA gathering and its unorthodox actions.

Center: In order to stay neutral, journalists should have reported what people on the scene said, on their own or in response to questions about the tornado. You then needed to print both sides so readers could make up their own minds.

Left: Since it’s clear that God does not act in such a manner (if in fact there is a God who can act in creation), and since it’s clear that the ELCA’s vote was a good thing, journalists should ignore the tornado — going so far as to ignore what was said about the storm during the meeting itself.”

Message: Keep news reporting in perspective.

“Meanwhile, the New York Times failed to even mention the tornado in its two stories on the ELCA vote. Did Olasky miss a reference in a later report?

Of course, Olasky is on the opposite side of the advocacy aisle. But even his theological viewpoint is nuanced.

… God controls the winds, so any tornado is a warning to all of us that we do not control even the next hour of our lives. We need to be careful about citing tornado hits or misses as proof of God’s specific disfavor or favor: Episcopalian prelates who approve sin should not rest easy because their conclaves have not caved in. In WORLD we avoid stating as fact that which cannot be proven from the Bible or from careful observation, but we do not follow the Times in ignoring remarkable providences.

So, on the tornedo issue, GetReligion aptly asks….”Got spin?”