Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Acts of God?

http://www.plain-truth.org.uk/current_issue/opinion.htm

I have always been uncomfortable with the idea of natural disasters being attributed to an Act of God. Hundreds of tornadoes touch down in the United States every year and unfailingly The Weather Channel documents at least one trailer home park having been destroyed during their rampages. Does this mean God hates trailer homes? Or say an ice storm cripples an area for days or weeks, toppling trees and breaking branches that take down power lines and turn roads into pathways of icy terror. Is that really God's angry judgement falling upon an entire state, province, or city, faithful and evil alike? Or could it possibly be attibuted as an act of an entirely different entity?

8 comments:

amade said...

Hi CrownRing!

Acts of G-tt, doesn't necessarily mean that its due to something that we, as humans did wrong. It could be a way that Our Lord is designing and changing the Garden that we live in. Change is inevitable- and is a constant. Sometimes its for the better. We, as his children, don't see it so sadly- we just see what is in front of our noses- and come up with negative answers.

With out these "design changes", we wouldn't have mountains, Oceans, the various geological formations that consist of our World. The Plates are always moving, and Volcanos are always erupting. Thats how H'awaii came about- a Volcano.

Wolfie

Solameanie said...

I often have to wonder at the frequent proximity of these types of disasters to the actions of our elected officials, especially when it comes to how they deal with Israel. There is often a correlation if you look into it.

As for Californication, I have been surprised that they haven't fallen into the ocean yet. At least some parts of the state.

crownring said...

1 Kings 19

11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

So you know, I do believe many disasters are the result of sin, original sin, if not deliberate on our part. If the Bible records it accurately and I'm inclined to believe it does, planet earth was a relatively placid place to live until The Flood. People lived hundreds, if not thousands of years and life while simple was pretty good. Then rampant evil came in the picture and God decided to limit sin by allowing people to live only a fraction of the old lifespan. God withdrew his hedge around humanity except for a handful of people and animals secreted in a bargelike boat and The Flood changed everything. Even palientologists say it would be impossible for the largest dinosaurs to live in earth's present atmosphere because there is no longer a constant high pressure and moisture that insured extremely rapid healing of wounds and helped plant life regenerate quickly. Whether you believe dinosaurs and humans traversed the earth at the same time or not, the same atmospheric conditions would have supported the optimum human life in much the same way.

amade said...

Interesting thoughts-thus far.

If sin were just the case of bad things happening- then--playing devils advocate- why wasn't bourbon street destroyed during Katerina?

Yes, the Heavenly Father destroyed the Earth due to the sin between the Nepharim ( I belive that is the correct term) and Man. The evil was due to the misusage of Angelic power both on earth and in the heavens. Man sinned severely- mutated beings were begotten- and the Father couldn't allow it. Therefore- it was better to start anew- and to do that he saved all that he could that was pure- and had Noe build his Ark. We are all descendants of Noe- a new race of pure mankind, unlike what was on Earth at the time. With that- once the earth was repopulated- he shortened our lifespan. One- to remind us that we are not immortal-and two- to encourage the reproduction of man and the spreading of his seed. Without that, we wouldn't have had Abraham or his descendents- who ultimatly led to the house of David, and the birth and manifestation of our Lord and Savior.

Wolfgang

kc bob said...

Interesting post and comment thread. I have been pondering this question lately:

If God lets something happen, is it the same as God causing it to happen?

One's answer to that question probably says more about them than it says about God.

When John the Baptist was in jail and near death by beheading Jesus told John's followers to tell John to not be offended.. Jesus could have sprung John from jail but He didn't.. he asked John to not be offended by His lack of action. He asks the same of us when God doesn't act and rescue us from the sometimes tragic circumstances of life that many deem to be an "act of God".

crownring said...

A few remarks.......
WAM.....Yes, change is inevitable. There are only three guarantees in life, taxes, death, and the love of God. ;) And I love The Lakes as much as you do your mountains.

Sola, if your premise is true, why doesn't Washington DC get these disasters, since the decisions about our relationship with Israel get made there? Greensburg, Kansas is nearly wiped off the face of the earth by an EF 4/5 tornado because of what goes on in DC? What about the tragedy at Virginia Tech? And as Wolfie mentioned, why did the notorious Bourbon Street in New Orleans survive Hurricane Katrina relatively unscathed while other locales were destroyed?

KansasBob, glad to have you aboard! :) You've certainly dealt with considerable crisis and tragedy in the last decade or so. I shouldn't wonder if you've been spending a lot of time in the Book of Job lately. And may your reward be like that of Job when you come through this latest one.

More, brothers? (And any sisters who care to answer)

amade said...

Ahhh.. I love the mountains- and also mountain lakes- thats where the best trout are to be had- and cooked...:)

I don't long for Salzburg however, but I do Wien... Rivers are just as nice as lakes..and I also like oceans as well!

Frankly- I love to travel. I think that everything that I have witnessed in nature- in our Lords creation- is beautful. It fills me with awe and joy.

Its the things of Man- that changes that... and I know that for sure!

Wolfgang

Solameanie said...

I wish I could answer that question. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and Daniel got hauled off to Babylon even though they personally walked with the Lord.

I make no prophetic pronouncements here. It's just something to ponder.