Wads4

A summary of desperate Christian attempts to “explain�? natural and other disasters,- especially 9/11, and the Indian Ocean tsunami.

1. If (say) 270,000 people died in the tsunami, then God’s Mercy is the reason why it was not 270,001. Never mind that it probably will be after the next re-count of bodies).
2. The reason that people help each other or make contributions to a disaster fund is because of God. (All social animals eg Elephants, Dolphins help each other. Humans have evolved sociability to a higher degree,-this is what makes us Human))
3. The reason a mother tries to rescue her children is because of God. !! (Look up Natural Selection).
4. The reason why a preponderance of helpless babies and young children perished in the tsunami is because they are the poorest and live closer to the coasts and have less supportive infrastructure. This was offered by a Christian as an “explanation�?. Well precisely:-it is a naturalistic explanation, not a God explanation. They have stolen a naturalistic explanation from atheists.
5. The old favourite: “It happened so that good might come out of it�?- ie that people would join together in rescue. So God has to cause, or negligently allow, tens or hundreds of thousands of deaths in order to make people feel good about themselves and each other?
6. People help each other because they have a “Divine spark�?. This is an unprovable metaphysical assertion,-also meaningless if there is no God.
7. And of course the obvious: “It is God’s punishment�?—for what? What behaviour can justify such slaughter?- maybe they weren’t Christians , but heathens?—maybe they were the wrong sort of Christian? Maybe they were the right sort of Christian but not diligent enough in praising God?
8. “God’s ways are beyond human understanding�?. !!!
9. Satan did it.
10. God was demonstrating his Power, and culling his creation---Homicidal maniac!!
11. “It was nothing to do with God�?—precisely;- so then, what good is God, and all that prayer and adulation? If God did not even notice, or care,- what good is he?
Could the reason be perhaps that he does not even exist?
12 .One Apologist asserted that Men have killed far more people than God. This raises two points: 1. Even if true,- is God then synonymous with Natural Disaster- and just a metaphor for it? 2. Who created Men to behave that way, and gave them Freewill?—God, allegedly. So we can justifiably blame God-if he exists,-or more justifiably assert that he does not.

13. God was testing our Faith!

DougP

This seems more like a General Religious Discussion than a NARP one, off it goes.

-Doug