Haiti earthquake, God's wrath or natural phenomenon?

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i use to read missionaries magazine here in the phiilippines. i read one about those experiences of filipino missionaries in haiti. i learned that it is not a peaceful place. they have been maltreated and they don’t give up. those missionaries… they inspire me.
 
So, what about Sodom and Gomorrah? Do you all think that God literally destroyed the city or is the story allegorical? Or, did more primitive peoples from the past falsely interpret natural disasters as the wrath of God?
 
Middleman said:
So, what about Sodom and Gomorrah? Do you all think that God literally destroyed the city or is the story allegorical?
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Sodom and Gomorrah sin was a HORRIBLE SIN, they deserve every punishment they got, at least God stopped their terrible act against themselves and most importantly against innocent people…
 
Middleman said:
So, what about Sodom and Gomorrah? Do you all think that God literally destroyed the city or is the story allegorical? Or, did more primitive peoples from the past falsely interpret natural disasters as the wrath of God?
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**This post from Middleman and the next by Sam (#43) are good reminder of the punishments that await bad (sinful) people. The bible describes the destruction of sinful people ( at the time of Moses a.s.) and at other times.

The quake of Pompi’i occurred about 2000 years ago. Some relics were found and very bad pictures of illicit sex (pictures) are seen on the walls there. The city of Sodom was destroyed due to male to male sex. It is described in the bible and in the Quran. The prophet Lot was there to warn the bad people. But they abused him and warned him. It cannot be wrong.

Whether we call it a natuarl disaster or an eye opener (warning) from God, it is linked with punishment for the wicked people. How many were wicked there in Haiti, may be not many.But there were some good people living with the wicked in a sinful atmosphere. The good ones did not preach and spread their goodness enough to reform the wicked ones.

We are sorry for what has happened. But the scriptures teach us that when people transgress and fall into evil practices, God becomes angry. For the atheists, there is no God in their minds. But the believers remember that there is a God. If He will punish the wicked in the next life then He can punish the wicked ones in this life too. If He does not punish the sinful wicked ones in this life then what is the proof that He will punish any one in next life?? God does not care for the habitual sinners.

We see the various punishments that fell upon the Egyptians for (opposing), disagreeing with Moses. God sent the terrible signs of punishment, lice and frogs and blood.
We hope and pray that the world people repent, reform and return to God in good faith. That they leave the sinful life. The real Catholics understand the very bad sinful condition of different people.The Muslims also understand that.

So it is always better to repent and seek refuge with God, with patience and prayers.** **There is some saying of King David in the bible ** “The righteous will inherit the land.” . That is very true
 
All predicted by the Blessed Mother. If people do not change their ways, there will be more and more of these catastrophies.
 
This past Sunday our priest mentioned the relationship between GOD and the earth and us. He said that when GOD created earth he created its laws and he resepects those laws. On earth there is gravity and he respects the gravity, he created earth to act and react the way it does and he respects those changes it goes through. Because a natural disaster happens doesnt mean it happend because of sin, it just happens. GOD doesnt come down to help us all the time. My priest used the analogy of Superman. He said superman comes down when there is trouble all the time. That makes people to dependant of someone saving them ALL THE TIME. GOD does not want us to be dependant on him like that. He wants us to be responsible for our actions. If we go around with a sense of security that someone will ALWAYS bail us out, then there is no ownership of our actons. We will be walking around with the idea “oh I can do this, if anything goes wrong, Ill be bailed out”

So GOD has respect for that, that he created. Like another poster said, bad things happen to good people. Its like the saying goes…“Wrong place at the Wrong time”
 
This is an ole question…the secular news likes to always say it also…and good ole Pat Robertson,a member of the left wing establishment, also likes to blame God for anything that goes wrong. Consider,our Creator gave us free will, a brain to think with,a heart to love with and a body of work with…if we dont use these benefits we deserve all we get. Humans should not live in a danger area. Yes,Jesus did say…it rains on the good and bad…but mother nature ! is a wild thing that cant be tamed therefor one must think a little anyway! One must never go under a tree when its lightening outside,live near constant hill mud slides,earthquake fault areas,.even Red Sox fenway fans…many civilians are lost in wars,in fact more civilians die then the military…a lesson from that is to get involved with ones destiny…too many times the couch potato drinks his suds and watchs overpayed and under talented athletes and takes no heed of what his ‘reps’ are doing…Pas
 
DeoDeuce2010 said:
All predicted by the Blessed Mother. If people do not change their ways, there will be more and more of these catastrophies.
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I suppose you have information regarding the behavior of the people of Haiti? Or did you mean if people continue to exhibit the kind of callousness in their lives that is sometimes shown on this thread, we can expect more of the same?
 
Splinker said:
I suppose you have information regarding the behavior of the people of Haiti? Or did you mean if people continue to exhibit the kind of callousness in their lives that is sometimes shown on this thread, we can expect more of the same?
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DeoDeuce2010 Is not just referring to Haiti the poster is referring to the whole world no matter what country or race.
It has become an ungodly society, my goodness sin and corruption in the world today is very bad.
Not that I’m saying previous generations didn’t sin, but there was some moral statues that a society adhered to. Today what was morally wrong has become in a social context correct.
 
imperial said:
DeoDeuce2010 Is not just referring to Haiti the poster is referring to the whole world no matter what country or race.
It has become an ungodly society, my goodness sin and corruption in the world today is very bad.
Not that I’m saying previous generations didn’t sin, but there was some moral statues that a society adhered to. Today what was morally wrong has become in a social context correct.
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👍
 
This is a problem many will be grappling with and it is difficult to give a direct answer.However since reference is drawn to Tsunami in Asia I would like to give my observations.The 2004 Tsunami occurred on the 26th of December.I am in Sri Lanka and am in a position to give some very interesting observations.Fist of all I must say that most Catholics in Sri Lanka which constitute about 5,5 % of the population are devout.Christmas is considered a family feast and celebrations go on till the wee hours of the morning but in home.The Tsunami occurred at around 9.30 am when most Sri Lankans would have been recovering from Chistmas revelry in their homes and would not have gone to the coast for the Holidays.December is the height of the tourist season and European and Scandinavian Tourist flock the South of Sri Lanka at this time.Most deaths took place in the South and the population there is predominantly non Christian.Though a few Christian died in the South the majority were non Christians considering the local community.Of course many Christian foreigners who were holidaying too succumbed.The local Christian community is congregated in the North Western province and ironically the coast in this part was not affected by the Tsunami and there was not a single death.To me it appeared as though the hand of God protected the believers of Jesus Christ considering the date of the Tsunami and the location of affected areas.The Tsunami according to Scientists is caused by destabilisation of tectronic plates and it is diificult to say whether God wished it or whether it was brought about by man in his indifference to the environment.However it is evident that the hand of God is there to protect you.
 
I just want to offer that we can not say either that God is or is not punishing anyone at any time. And that we know there are negative consequences for sin whether now or later. I am not defending the notion that we can determine when a natural disaster or consequence may be the result of sin or not or any person arguing why a tragedy occurred. As stated, ‘the rain falls on the just and the unjust.’
So, I think it unwise to say that any disaster occurred because of any specific sin. But we do know that if voodoo practices are occurring that there likely will be some negative consequences. But God is also patient and merciful and doesn’t always deal with us as our sins deserve. He did after all, suffer the most, and most innocently.
My point is that we just do not know, so we can sound foolish to declare what God has not told us. I think that we must err on the side of love and compassion and pray for whatever good can come now. We also should weep and mourn with those we can weep and mourn with.
I just do not want people to look so foolish with there theories that they make it seem silly that sin and evil exist and sometimes it will be punished and sometimes severely. Look at those who lied to God in the book of Acts. So, I am not willing to say that any disaster is not because of sin as much as I am not willing to say that any disaster is because of sin. I am just not able to say which sin and who is guilty of it or if sin is the reason at all why something happened. Maybe it will be my sin!

Like others I simply do not have answers other than to say that we are to respond in love and humility and probably not play the blame game unless we have some special prophetic gift. But I see it possible that God simply allows things to happen sometimes, and I see it possible that some things are a part of His will in ways that we can not comprehend. We all have to die eventually. The Holy Innocents are after all considered saints and worthy of seeking the intercession of. The good news is that our Lord suffered and therefore is present with us in our sufferings (at least hopefully most of us). That it can bring us closer to Him and His Sacred Heart. I do not see God as someone who likes our pain or laughs as we suffer, but for reasons that we do not entirely understand and part of the necessity of us having free will and the chance at redemption at His expense, suffering and evil are just a part of things in the world. But God is Lord of it all, and can handle and understand what is beyond us.
I guess my over all point is that as much as I disagree with anyne saying that a disaster took place as a punishment from God, I am also not confident declaring that it definitely was not or that it is impossible. I think we just can not discern the mind of God. It is possible that disasters are a means of judgments, as God can rule and control all kingdoms and natural events. But He does not see a need to ask our opinion or explain all His knowledge to us on these matters. I think He simply asks us to love and trust and come to Him with our broken hearts and confused minds. Forgive me if I have appeared to say anything beyond what I can know.
 
=Sam_777;6175662]Yesterday in our Friday sermon our Muslim cleric said it’s God’s wrath because people have sinned extensively.
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If I disagree with him and consider that as natural phenomenon then where is God to protect those 100,000 people who died in seconds!
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If I agree with him then the 230,000 people (most of them are Muslims) who died in the Asian tsunami back in 2004 are also sinners!
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What do you think?
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***Well put!

While God can and does permit evil, God cannot cause it.

God is all-Powerful, Just and Good.

Most of what happens in nature, is a “natural consequence” of other natural or man-made causes.

This does not deny the possibility that God makes use of the occurences for HIS Greater Glory an His Greater Good.

While NOT impossible “Sodom” type paybacks are unlikely until the “End Times”.

Still, ONLY God can understand God? So we will always point out this and that as being the reason. NONE of it is proveable, and that ought be kept in mind.:rolleyes:***
 
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