An Act of God?
Many Malaysians, Russians and U.S. residents view the recent South Asian tsunami that has killed over 250,000 people was an act of God.
GMI Inc. polled 20,000 people from 20 nations, from Jan. 8 through Jan. 12, to find the widespread prevalence of a religious interpretation to the Indian Ocean catastrophe, the company said Wednesday. GMI found that half of Malaysian respondents felt that the tsunami was an act of God; similarly, half of Malaysian respondents indicated they were much closer to God after the tsunami. In the United States, 10 percent of Catholics and half of southern evangelicals also embraced a religious interpretation of the tsunami's source. Other nations where the tsunami was seen as an act of God were Russia with 27 percent and South Korea with 15 percent, for a global average of 16 percent who thought the devastation was a divine act. Japanese residents were a striking exception to the overall poll results, with few seeing God behind the tsunami.
I honestly don’t know whether to scream or laugh when someone calls a disaster like the South Asian Tsunami an ‘Act of God’. As far as I am aware God is supposed to be one of the Good Guys – in fact He’s supposed to be THE Good Guy and yet… hundreds of thousands of people died. Men, women and children died by the hand of a supposedly loving benevolent God.
I don’t know what actually surprises me more, that a loving God is supposedly thought capable of such mass killings (I hesitate – slightly - to use the word murders) or that people can still worship a God that does things like this on a regular if apparently random basis and that such actions bring them “much closer to God”. Personally if I believed that God had killed members of my family, or my children, I doubt if such acts would bring me closer to Him.
If disasters such as tsunami’s, hurricanes and earthquakes are indeed ‘acts of God’ then He is not a loving or a caring God and does not deserve worship (though I guess it would be prudent to fear and try to placate Him). If they are natural disasters and He is incapable of stopping them then He is not God. If He stands by and lets them happen He is not a caring God and, again, does not deserve worship. If He is responsible for the deaths of countless innocent people as part of His master plan then He is an Evil God and should be opposed wherever possible. Whichever way you look at it ‘Acts of God’ do Him little credit and cannot but reflect badly on those who place the responsibility for such disasters in the hands of their Deity.
Anyone else think we should stop using such phrases in a hopefully enlightened century?
11 comments:
Most christian based religions don't have a caring God but a vengeful one.
Most Eastern religions don't have a caring God, but an aloof on one
It's our wooly, liberal, namby pamby western interpretation of the New Testement that makes Him caring, and that's only cos we dont read the scary bits!
Of course, it does seem to make praying/religion a bit pointless.
I would suggest "Acts of Nature" rather than "Acts of God."
I also don't believe a caring God would put otherwise good people, among them children, through such horrendous fear and pain. If God wanted to "bring them home" to Heaven, there are more humane ways to do that.
I also don't believe a vengeful God would do that, He/She/It wouldn't get the full credit for the catastrophe. I say, if you're a vengeful God and want to scare the bejeebies out of a group of people, stick your face out there and say, "I am God!" and then put the whammy down on them. Then EVERYONE would be certain that it was an act of God.
I personally think a God would be smart enough to figure that out. Foolish people, thinking acts of nature are the acts of God.
Oh, and cool picture BTW. :-)
Also, do you know about the Blonde Sense blog? I have a link to it on my side bar. That site had a story about Florida spending funds to see if holy water would ward off citrus canker in oranges. full story Talk about religious nuts!
V V said: Oh, and cool picture BTW. :-)
Another one from Google images. It looked so bizarre that I just HAD to use it!
V V said: a story about Florida spending funds to see if holy water would ward off citrus canker in oranges.
Speaking of the bizarre... I'm SURE that I woke up in thr 21st Century this morning. Did I miss the timeslip into the Middle Ages...?
V V said: I personally think a God would be smart enough to figure that out. Foolish people, thinking acts of nature are the acts of God.
You would think that a God worthy of the name would make His actions blatently obvious wouldn't you? Why leave room for doubt and ambiguity? I think it's a poor God that relies on faith. Be bold, be loud, make a scene...
The same with 'Design'.. why not put an obvious 'Made by God' sign into DNA..?
CK said: "The same with 'Design'.. why not put an obvious 'Made by God' sign into DNA..?"
Religious nuts would argue either: (a) God wants to test our faith, or (b) God's stamp is all over DNA, we're just too ignorant, imperfect, faithless to see it.
Hmmm, reminds me of a story about the Emperor's new clothes . . .
But why does God need to test our faith? That's yet another bit that never really made much sense... Why does He play games with us? Seems rather cruel to me.
If "we're just too ignorant, imperfect, faithless to see it" then He didn't 'design' us very well, did He?
Your mistake is in assuming we are living in an enlightened century.
Hey CK, get writing! ;-) I keep checking your blog for another thought provoking post.
V V said: Hey CK, get writing! ;-) I keep checking your blog for another thought provoking post.
Sorry... I've been away doing my duty visit to my parents..... I'll have something provocative soon... (grin)
GWB said: Your mistake is in assuming we are living in an enlightened century.
I can but hope.... (chuckle)
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