Indonesian volcano spews lava, hot clouds - Mount Merapi

AP on Yahoo ^ | 6/3/06 | En-Lai Yeoh - ap

[MAexile]

Locusts, frogs, first-born sons?

Don't forget darkness and gnats.

[SauronOfMordor]

Why in the world would anyone venture that close to a smoking volcano.

I hope he was working with a telescopic lens

[layman]

If this were happening in the Western, Christian world you can bet your ass that some frothing at the mouth Mullah would be out there shooting off his rabid, bearded mouth shouting that Allah was punishing the infidels for thinking that Mohammad, the pedophile so-called prophet, was nothing more than a blood thirsty common criminal. The frothing at the mouth, rabid Mullah would be half right.

[thomaswest]

Re 23: If this were happening in the Western, Christian world....

Your post is curious. In ancient times, people cursed the gods and blamed them for misfortunes. This was correct--if a god is all-powerful, then 'he' needs to take responsibility for screw-ups and bad things.

It is no excuse to say that "God knows more and has His ways".

It is weird that nowadays God gets credit for good things but no blame for bad things. This is asymmetric.

Some say this started with Noah's Flood, when zillions of the unborn were killed in a fit of pique, creating a contradiction. I don't wish to argue this point.

But I do think it is important to recognize that humans recognize bad things do happen, and throwing up our hands is not responsible--trying to prevent bad things is what we all do for our childen. Attributing bad things to God is not in fashion--but it cannot be true that God is only valid for 'good things'.

Is trying to avoid 'bad things' for my kids a wilfull hubris to thwart God's will? I don't think so!

[SAJ]

Yah. Where are all the environuts wagging their fingers?

''Bad volcano! Bad!''

[Fraxinus]

elders are worried however, an absence of sacrifical virgins means the rituals have not been performad as in days of yore.

All those virgins gave Merapi a bad case of indegestion last time?

[Strategerist]

1) Java is one of the most crowded places on earth.

2) The soil is really fertile next to volcanoes.

3) Indonesia is a corrupt country and poor people who don't have much to begin with have no faith (probably correctly) that the army or police will protect their meager possessions if they evacuate.