Keep in mind that we are arguing about a cause that is not fully known. I do not think the Lord is the causal force. I believe the cause of this evil has at least ONE root. Enemies of America are waiting to take her down. But the enemy has no chance against a morally strong people. However, the enemy knows that a morally depraved people and a divided nation is easy prey. America is loaded up to the sky with the morally depraved and is clearly divided. The last election showed that.
So the enemy sees an opening to attack as a result of this. I do believe it is the sinful corruption of others that led to the death of those in this tragedy. Some who died in the disaster were innocent of the corruption, others were guilty. Those to whom sought to bring glory to God in their lives are simply innocent victims in a war.
But the creators of the moral climate in this country carry the full weight of the blame. As the weaken the moral center, the enemy seeks to take advantage of that weakness. As the enemy takes advantage of that weakness, there are going to be casualties of people who had no part in the moral decline and dividing of the nation. The tragedy is that good people will suffer because of the acts of evil people. This is why it is a good thing to get rid of groups like the ACLU, and for Christians to start praying and evangelizing like never before. The only way to rebuild the moral center is to have the evil people repent and change their ways. The stronger the moral center, the deeper the commitment to Christ, the more impenetrable the nation, and the less opportunity for an enemy to attack.
Jesus said He came to save men's lives, not destroy them. But a nation will be vulnerable to calamity -- which includes the loss of life of good people -- if the greater mass of inhabitants turn away from adhering to the principles of scripture.
And you are right, the Lord has the devil on a leash. Who can know the mind of God? Who are we to say what the justice of God is? The Lord used Cyrus the King of Persia, a very evil man, to go in and wreak havoc with ancient Israel.
But the judgement is merely the effect of a cause where a morally depraved nation is vulnerable to attack. That is just a very very basic fact of history. The outflow from the rejection of the Lord by too many people in this country has made the WHOLE country vulberable to attack, wherin the good AND the agents of the cause (bad) die. Thus oerhaps we should reserve some venom for all the anti Christ liberal pigs who made it their career to bring America to this depraved low point as well as Osama Bib Laden and his evil gang.
But the decision to repent lies with the individual. If the Christians do not evangelize, do not pray, and MOST IMPORTANTLY lead lives of credibility and integrity -- all of which for the most part has NOT been happening in this country for YEARS -- then the net result will be a nation of morally weak, emasculated dullards, who believe in nothing, and will not be able to defend themselves against an aggressor who wants to take from them their life and property. The United States is a pretty sweet piece of real estate, and you can bet lots of people would like to get it. But they cannot take this land without a fight.
If the people of this Christian nation divorce themselves from the God who raised the nation up, then they will become the type of people who will be easy prey for an enemy. The judgement of God means that when we stop serving the Lord and rspecting His Word, we become weak. An aggressive, demonic, maniacal enemy can take down such an opponent in a heartbeat.
But there is another problem, and that is the evil that flows from the top. Stalin massacred millions of Christians. This is why we must make sure we know who are rulers are, and that they are not evil. Otherwise no matter how devoted the citizen is to God, an evil ruler will kill as many as he wants. This begs the question, then, WHO is the leader (or leaders) in this world today? WHO are the people behind Osama Bin Laden? If THESE people are killed, than we can eliminate another layer of suffering that can befall an otherwise good people.
And I define good as anybody who cnfesses their sin the Jesus, and agrees with the word of God.