Ice Storm 2026

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I was hoping to upload a pic from our recent ice storm but some glitch is preventing me. In the meantime, enjoy this excerpt from one of my favorite short stories “The Snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver. Then they invited the North Wind to stay with them, and he came. He was wrapped in furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots down. “This is a delightful spot,” he said, “we must ask the Hail on a visit.” So the Hail came. Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates, and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go. He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like ice.” (The Selfish Giant, by Oscar Wilde)

Is God the Author Of Confusion?

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Question: How can it be taught that God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33), when God Himself is quoted as saying “Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” (Genesis 11:7)?

Answer: There are a couple of approaches to find our answer, the first being to recognize the involvement of three languages: Hebrew, Greek and English. The Hebrew word translated “confuse” in Genesis 11:7 is balal, better be understood as “pour together” or “mix.”

The second approach is to look at the narrative again. God commanded Noah and his descendants to spread out, fill the earth; instead, they came together in one place. Rather than obey God’s command to fulfill His purpose and receive the subsequent blessing of ruling the earth as His vice-regent they kept to themselves, even speaking the same language. Genesis 10 contains the table of nations as they were divided according to their languages, but Genesis 11 gives the details of how the languages came to be.

Is God the author of confusion? No. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, the church is reminded that gifts are to be used in accordance with God’s purpose. Using the gifts wrongly to creates akasatasia (disorder, disturbance) where God intends peace. Paul is addressing the way people speak in church, especially when more than one person has something to say.

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