Tony Perkins denies saying God punishes gay people with natural disasters

Conservative leader Tony Perkins has denied he ever said disasters were God's punishment for gay people after the historic Louisiana flooding destroyed his home.

The 53-year-old president of Family Research Council (FRC) spoke out last week against circulating reports that he assigned natural disasters as God's way of punishing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Perkins rebuffed the reports as "deceptive claims" and "inaccurate."

"What I have said, which I repeated yesterday in a sermon at Greenwell Springs Baptist Church, is that I don't know what was behind this flood or any other natural disaster. However, as a follower of Jesus Christ, I believe the Bible which makes clear that God is sovereign over the elements of nature and can and does use them for His purposes," wrote Perkins in an article for Charisma News.

The reports surfaced after the Christian lobbyist announced Aug. 18 that his home was among the tens of thousands destroyed by the heavy rainfall that began Aug. 12 and submerged South Louisiana in a historic flooding.

"This is a flood, I would have to say, of near biblical proportions," Perkins, a former representative of Louisiana, told FRC in an interview.

He revealed that about 10 feet of water inundated their home and that he and his family escaped through a canoe.

Reports of Perkins' situation were circulated by liberals with accompanying accounts claiming how he connected disasters with the sins of LGBT people.

Some pointed to last year when Perkins interviewed Messianic Jewish pastor Jonathan Cahn and agreed with him that Hurricane Joaquin was "a sign of God's wrath."

Perkins also compared homosexuality to pedophilia and attributed the latter as "a homosexual problem."

However, the Christian leader has now clarified his stance, and has urged Christians to respond by praying in these trying times.

"We are to be on our faces before God, giving thanks in everything, and placing ourselves in total dependence on Him," said Perkins.

He ended by thanking volunteer aid workers, particularly the Samaritan's Purse, which responded within 48 hours to his call for help, and for urging Christians to continue praying that God would use the church to minister to the communities.

Faith-based groups and local churches offered relief for Louisiana flood victims.