Australian fires

[basics]

Watched a programme on the disaster in Australia where it was estimated that over a billion animals and creatures were wiped out by the fires. The devastation is mind blowing and is put down to climate change but is that really true? Not being a scientist I wonder if perhaps the horse is being led by the cart here? Can man stop volcanic activity any more than he can stop lightning strikes causing such fires which in turn pump millions of tons of chemicals into the atmosphere causing I assume the planet to heat up? What I watched was of Biblical proportions and certainly heartbreaking to see so i wonder what your comments might be concerning all this?

[TheLeft]

Australia is on fire because God wants it to be. Showing sympathy for those affected is directly questioning God's divine judgement and a sin...

[Genava]

Watched a programme on the disaster in Australia where it was estimated that over a billion animals and creatures were wiped out by the fires. The devastation is mind blowing and is put down to climate change but is that really true?

Well, the estimation is actually still conservative and reality could be higher.

The figures quoted by Professor Dickman are based on a 2007 report for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) on the impacts of land clearing on Australian wildlife in New South Wales.

To calculate the impacts of land clearing on the State’s wildlife, the authors of that report obtained estimates of mammal, bird and reptile population density in NSW and then multiplied the density estimates by the areas of vegetation approved to be cleared.

Estimates of density were obtained from published studies of these animal groups in NSW and from studies carried out in other parts of Australia in similar habitats to those present in NSW.

The authors deliberately employed highly conservative estimates in making their calculations. The true mortality is therefore likely to be substantially higher than those estimated.

The figure includes mammals (excluding bats), birds and reptiles and does not include frogs, insects or other invertebrates. NSW’s wildlife is seriously threatened and under increasing pressure from a range of threats, including land clearing, exotic pests and climate change.

Australia supports a rich and impressive diversity of mammals, with over 300 native species.

Some 34 species and subspecies of native mammals have become extinct in Australia over the last 200 years, the highest rate of loss for any region in the world.

Source: https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/n...-impacted.html

Can man stop volcanic activity any more than he can stop lightning strikes causing such fires which in turn pump millions of tons of chemicals into the atmosphere causing I assume the planet to heat up?

Sadly, even volcanic eruption and huge bushfires represent only a very small fraction of the greenhouse gases humanity is emitting. The Australian bushfires sent approximately 250 millions of tons of CO2 in the atmosphere for the year 2019. In comparison, fossil fuels consumption sent around 37'500 millions of tons of CO2 in 2019.

About volcanoes:
https://climatefeedback.org/claimrev...-edward-kamis/
https://climatefeedback.org/claimrev...-volcanoes-do/

Edit: If you are interested, there is a long and exhaustive coverage made on the issue by the CarbonBrief
https://www.carbonbrief.org/media-re...climate-change

[basics]

Australia is on fire because God wants it to be. Showing sympathy for those affected is directly questioning God's divine judgement and a sin...

TheLeft,

Is that Scriptural? Answer no it is not! When man fell so did all creation. God's solution is that man can be saved through Jesus Christ to inherit a completely new creation unfallen. So showing sympathey is certainly not against God's judgement in any way. " Love your neighbour as yourself, " comes to mind.

[Akar]

"Why is Australia on fire?"

"Australia is on fire because god wants it to be"

"Why does he want it to be on fire?"

"Because it's on fire!"

The problem with circular logic is that if you think about it like an animal, you're just a snake with your head up your own ass.

[basics]

Akar,

The counter argument displayed by the panic that seems to have taken over most of the world however is that man is responsible not God for what is happening in Australia and elsewhere. So whether it's scriptural or unscriptural man is to blame.

[TheLeft]

Akar,

The counter argument displayed by the panic that seems to have taken over most of the world however is that man is responsible not God for what is happening in Australia and elsewhere. So whether it's scriptural or unscriptural man is to blame.

Is he? Surely it's entirely possible for the creator of the entire universe to send some rain to the affected area and put out the fires? Like I said, they burn because your God wants it that way.

I think that given God's M.O. some people were being sinful, they probably didn't eat fish on a Friday, or they wore garments made from more than one cloth, or perhaps too many people mocked bald men and rather than sending a bear, he sent fire... Either way, exterminating innocent creatures for no good reason seems like the behaviour of your God.

After all, he's done it before...

[Akar]

Is god willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.

Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.

Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?

Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him god?

[Derc]

The only thing that's on fire is you, comrade Akar.

Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?

For the purpose of trolling, of course.

[Akar]

That and hundreds of thousands of square meters of beautiful Australian wildlife and scenery.

[Derc]

Well, not so beautiful anymore, lol.

Wait, when was a jail ever beautiful?!

[Akar]

Well, it used to have Koalas.

[Cope]

Is god willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.

Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.

Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?

Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him god?

The deduction (why call him God/there is no God) is correct, but only if you assume the accuracy of the preceding statements. The argument that the existence of evil proves God's malevolence can be rebuked by acknowledging either of the following two truths: (1) since good and evil are contingent on one another, a world devoid of evil is necessarily a world devoid of good and/or; (2) your subjective perception of "evil" (and by extension God's intentions) are faulty.

[Derc]

Well, it used to have Koalas.

They're the devil, believe me. Meet them in the zoo. They're not just pure evil, but also incredibly dumb. Just like Cookiegod.

[Akar]

They also are just riddled with chlamydia. Although, so is Cookiegod.

[basics]

TheLeft,

If God wants it that way then surely the sooner man repents and turns back to Him the sooner it all will stop? Alas man has the answer in killing off all cows, stop making cars and buses and planes and stop poluting the planet with discarded waste. It's man that is causing global warming so say the scientists and just about every news channel one tunes into. Why blame God if there is none?

[Cookiegod]

Well given the placement of this thread I am happy to see the TWC are front and center in giving the church of the Australian wildfires the official status it deserves

Is god willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.

Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.

Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?

Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him god?

Well 1) there's not only absolute omnipotency, but also relative omnipotency. E.g. Leibniz postulated god created the best world possible, and 2) personally I prefer an even easier explanation, which is that you cannot have one without the other. You can't have + without the -, you can't have Derc without Cookiegod, you can't cleanse Australia without burning everything up (gettit? gettit?) and you can't experience the Schadenfreude of someone else suffering from Chlamydia without being a total Dick, which you absolutely are.

[Akar]

That's....a surprisingly cogent point and a great comeback all wrapped up into one

[conon394]

If God wants it that way then surely the sooner man repents and turns back to Him the sooner it all will stop?

Repent from what again?

Why blame God if there is none?

Personalty I don't because your god has a very weak argument. But after all he is the one who set up a system with two innocence people and poor security and than blames everything and everyone for their mistake that toddler like they could have no way of understanding before making it. God created if Genesis is to be believed a perfect Catch 22.

[Akar]

Why blame god if there isn't one?

I'm not blaming him because I know he isn't real. I'm asking why someone who believes in god would be okay with him burning down an entire continent? Yet another catastrophe for God's list of things he's done to humanity because "tHeY jUsT wOnT bElIeVe Me"