Tsunami in Japan

[Rowdytavern]

If god loves you then why did he let this terrible disaster happen. I would like to hear a christians take on the Japanese tsunami. Was he simply calling those people home? Does he not care about those people? The children who died, did they not have a life worth living in His Eyes. Is it because Japan is morally corrupt in gods eyes?? let's hear some explanations.

[Helm]

Well I suppose you could say it wouldn't have been a disaster if people hadn't decided to live in an area where certain natural events tend to occur, they made use of their freewill to live there. This kind of natural event needs to occur because we need a molten core in order to maintain a magnetic shield around the planet that keeps solar radiation from stripping the atmosphere down to the bare rock. But that's a bit of a stretch.

[Stark of Winterfell]

Well I suppose you could say it wouldn't have been a disaster if people hadn't decided to live in an area where certain natural events tend to occur, they made use of their freewill to live there. This kind of natural event needs to occur because we need a molten core in order to maintain a magnetic shield around the planet that keeps solar radiation from stripping the atmosphere down to the bare rock. But that's a bit of a stretch.

So where should we live? Most areas are at risk of some form of natural disaster or another, be it earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes etc. I don't think there's enough weather-free area to support the entire human population.

[Phier]

If god loves you then why did he let this terrible disaster happen. I would like to hear a christians take on the Japanese tsunami. Was he simply calling those people home? Does he not care about those people? The children who died, did they not have a life worth living in His Eyes. Is it because Japan is morally corrupt in gods eyes?? let's hear some explanations.

Why is it always the Christian take on it and not the Jewish or the Muslim?

[Rowdytavern]

Well i am not necessarily Athiest and if I had to "Religiofy" (my own word) my faith I believe that Christianity would most closely resemble my belief. That is why I am only interested in a Christian point of view. I should have explained that in my first post. I am also genuinely interested in peoples ideas about Gods role in natural disasters

[maerd2003]

Why is it always the Christian take on it and not the Jewish or the Muslim?

because christian world is dominant for this era..

[Helm]

Probably because the Jewish/Muslim God is angry and wrathful while the Christian God is more about caring and love.

[Lordinquisitor]

Probably because the Jewish/Muslim God is angry and wrathful while the Christian God is more about caring and love.

And boring.

[Ishoss]

Probably because the Jewish/Muslim God is angry and wrathful while the Christian God is more about caring and love.

And there's more Christians here...

[Sadreddine]

Probably because the Jewish/Muslim God is angry and wrathful while the Christian God is more about caring and love.

Why bother with thousands of years of theological development when we have Helm to explain us about God in the Abrahamic religions in a one liner?

Here is an interesting hadith qudsi for you:

"Abu Hurayrah said: the Messenger of Allaah said: “When Allaah created His creation, He wrote in a Book which is with Him, above the Throne: ‘My Mercy prevails over My wrath.’” [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]"

[Helm]

Why bother with thousands of years of theological development when we have Helm to explain us about God in the Abrahamic religions in a one liner?

Well it saves you from having to wade through thousands of year of theological development, it's like being taken straight to the facts of the matter. It's good isn't it?

"Abu Hurayrah said: the Messenger of Allaah said: “When Allaah created His creation, He wrote in a Book which is with Him, above the Throne: ‘My Mercy prevails over My wrath.’” [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]"

Mercy isn't quite the same thing as love though. Both the Christian and Muslim God, being based on the OT Jewish God have the wrath aspect. I suppose a bit of wrath is good to have but only relevant if these gods exist. I don't see particularly why they would as I can only work with the evidence for them. If you're only looking at the hard evidence in the absence of faith there's very little to go on you'll have to admit. So the Koran has a couple of passages that kind of look like they fit with modern scientific theory but I figure if you throw enough vague and abstract mud at a wall some of it will stick. As for the good humanistic stuff I would argue that's the kind of thing we should be doing anyway regradless of which and what kind of god, gods or afterlife exists.

[Sadreddine]

Mercy isn't quite the same thing as love though

You mean then this kind of love?:

“Say, “If you do love Allah, follow me, Allah will love you, and forgive your sins, as Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Merciful”. Surah Imrân (3:31)

And in the hadith:

Allah almighty said: If My servant loves to meet Me, I love to meet him, and if he hates to meet Me, I hate to meet him.” (Al- Bukhari)

Which might seem familiar theology to some of the posters here.

Or:

"Allah would say on the Day of Judgment: “Where are those who love each other for My sake? Today I will shelter them with My shade, as there is no shade today except My shade”.” (Muslim)

"You will not enter Paradise until you have faith and you will not have faith until you love one another. Do you want me to tell you something you can do to make you love one another? Make it a habit to greet one another with “Assalaamu Alaykum” – peace upon you”. (Muslim)

And the famous source for sufism:

"“Allah Almighty said: “My servant draws near to Me with nothing more loved by Me than the acts of worship that I have enjoined upon him. My servant continues to try to draw near to Me with more devotion, until I love him. When I love him, I will be his hearing with which he hears, his sight by which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, his feet on which he walks. When he asks Me for something, I will respond and when he takes refuge in Me, I will grant it to him. I do not hesitate in doing anything I intend to do as much as I hesitate in seizing the soul of My faithful servant; he hates death and I hate hurting him. But death is a must for him”.” (Al- Bukhari)

[MaximiIian]

Poseidon cares not for mortals. You happen to be in the way of his sea.

[Col. Tartleton]

Poseidon cares not for mortals. You happen to be in the way of his sea.

The Grand Earthshaker struck the wicked for depleting his seas of fish. If Japan continues to fish they will be destroyed utterly. He will shake the very foundations of the islands and they will join Atlantis, Lemuria, and Mu beneath the boiling surf.

Hail to the Horse Lord! Hail to the mighty son of Kronus!

[Helm]

I suppose very few if any of the people who died will have been Christian so God won't have been protecting them with his magic and now their souls are in Hell. I think that would be something like the Christian point of view. Nice isn't it?

[HansDuet]

Hocus pocus.

[Angrychris]

lol i like how you give a point of view and end it with a ?

[(s)AINT]

GOD does not cause tsunamis. Earthquakes do.

/thread

[Dr Zoidberg]

GOD does not cause tsunamis. Earthquakes do.

This.

[Thanatos]

What makes me laugh more than anything else is that there are people who are actually praying and thanking whatever deity it is that more people didn't die. What rubbish.

Indonesia's tsunami a few years back didn't cause more deaths because God hated the country, or because there weren't enough Christians, it was caused due to poverty, and very poor infrastructure. This in turn made the place susceptible to being a serious hazard in case disaster struck.

Japan suffered less because being exponentially richer, they were able to invest in various preventative measures. Whether a person lived or died was completely dependent on where he was, and on whatever happened, not on some invisible deity up there looking at each individual person deciding if it was high time that person snuffed it.

To thank God for sparing the lives of others in not having more dead makes that same God something of an incredible jerk, and is some incredibly ed up logic, not to mention an absolutely disgusting relationship.

Why is it always the Christian take on it and not the Jewish or the Muslim?

Because it's the religion that most people are familiar with, although I would like to hear more people's take on Judaism and Islam and whatever other religion, yes.