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Joyfull, I fear God. I understand God sometimes punishes wrongdoers for their sins. And yes, sometimes God also punishes nations for their sins. One only needs to read the books of Exodus, Joshua and Judges for examples.

But God's punishments are typically tailor made to send clear messages. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, but only after God made it clear those cities did not contain ONE righteous man. Israel was overcome after following false gods only after God sent numerous prophets with clear warnings. Disrespectful priests were killed while in the act of being disrespectful. No one knows the mind of God, but I would guess God would not punish innocent astronauts for abortion and cloning. Rather, I would guess He would punih abortionists and cloners.

The book of Job makes it clear that God doen't like people to attribute all tragedy to His punishments, as does the incident with the blind man Jesus healed. Part of fearing God includes heeding these messages.

Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, but only after God made it clear those cities did not contain ONE righteous man.

Appreciate your civil post, but weren't young children and innocant babies also destroyed in Sodom? God destroyed them as well. What do you say about that?

Yes, the book of Job is one of the most enlightening of books....and interestingly, is the oldest of the books as well. It is the best example of how God uses Satan to test our faith. It is the book I approach always with a sense of both dread and comfort, the one that most beautifully illustrates man's fragility and his capacity for greatness, his weakness and vulnerability as well as revealing much about the nature of God, man and Satan.