Posted on 03/24/2011 4:35:38 PM PDT by joeclarke
“no ... just no”
“No” to being specific?
“I recently read that scientists believe that coal mining in Australia and the depletion of water in the coal mines caused the Christchurch earthquake.”
No, according to some on the interwebs, it was the usual suspect, Global Warming, that caused the earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand. Its all here
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.global-warming/browse_thread/thread/f6d8029723b3bb9a?pli=1
what is the cause of “plate tectonics” and “physics” as you term them? Again, of course God did it....we can’t judge why....we see this in the Gospel of John when Christ encountered the man born blind...”Lord, who sinned, this man or his parents” ...answer...neither...but that the power of God may be shown to you....
The Christchurch quake happened because New Zealand is on a plate boundary, which has been there for tens of millions of years, undoubtedly causing thousands of strong earthquakes, most of which happened before there were even humans at all, much less humans in New Zealand.
I mean, we understand this pretty well. It’s unfortunate that the exact times the earthquakes happen cannot be predicted (as there is a degree of randomness to the process) but it’s curious and a bit disturbing that in the 21st century, people can’t handle or process the thought of disasters just...happening, and having nothing to do with what people, or some deity, do or do not do.
Christ didn’t crush Christchurch. God didn’t jump on Japan. He didn’t give me power steering problems and make my hair fall out. I wasn’t unrighteous when the neighbors cows got into my sweet corn, and it wasn’t sin that caused the hailstorm that broke out the van window.
Otherwise that whole free will/faith/redemption by Christ thing is moot.
I suggest you access the Catholic Catechism and a Bible with all the books. Then talk to a Catholic priest or read some more about theology.
I mean that in a good way. Good luck.
The Christchurch Cathedral has been damaged by earthquakes 5 times since 1881, losing it’s spire 3 times.
I’ll take “earthquake prone area” over “New Zealanders are exceptionally sinful.” But I’m crazy that way.
A worldview of a capricious Father that sends natural disasters to mankind makes for good reading. A better worldview is one of man having difficulty with sin, with a devil constantly tempting him, with God sending his son to the Earth for redemption. This worldview makes for a more accurate teaching of the Gospel.
“He is not to be blamed for doing something wrong, even though it may be harsh.”
Fair enough. But that’s not the same as some mere mortal saying he knows that G_d did it for a purpose, and he knows what that purpose was, and he knows the purpose was punishment.
To be able to “know” all that stuff would make you akin to G_d yourself. And we know where that kind of ambition leads, don’t we?
“The Christchurch Cathedral has been damaged by earthquakes 5 times since 1881, losing it’s spire 3 times.”
When they put up the 4th one, I’ll say that was G_d’s will.
In that case Hollywood would be destroyed by now...
Not necessarily....God has decided to extend them more mercy....
Don’t try to balance this....New Zealand’s timing ...why not Hollywood first? As I see Liz Taylor pass into eternity, I think of her contemporaries...many of whom did not make it to age 60 (Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power, Jeff Chandler, Linda Darnell, Richard Burton, etc)....
In Japan’s case, one could argue a link to their aggression from 1937 in Nanking, Bataan, Pearl Harbor, etc....
It cannot be accidents....Divine Providence as defined by the New Advent Encyclopedia:
As applied to God, Providence is God Himself considered in that act by which in His wisdom He so orders all events within the universe that the end for which it was created may be realized.............
Did Christ Crush Christchurch In New Zealand? Did God Jump On Japan?No. G-d is love. G-d's angels, OTOH, are another story.
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