Replies

1 posted on 05/31/2011 8:17:33 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

Great take on the immense tragedy. I have shed many tears reading the stories of those both lost and saved in the tornadoes in the south and Midwest. I cannot imagine any of their lives ever being the same.

2 posted on 05/31/2011 8:24:47 AM PDT by Trust but Verify (Let's party like it's 1773!)

"What happened in Joplin, MO was not an Act of God. It was a natural act of nature."

I am amazed at the number of people who believe that any tragic event is an "act of God." God set everything in motion and, when an event such as this occurs, it is definitely an act of nature. When an automobile accident occurs and someone is killed, it is not an act of God.

3 posted on 05/31/2011 8:35:13 AM PDT by davisfh (Islam is a mental illness with global social consequences)

"What happened in Joplin, MO was not an Act of God. It was a natural act of nature."

I must steadfastly disagree with the opening premise. To believe that God was somehow not in control of this or any other thing is to also believe that there are things outside of the Almighty's control that can disrupt His plans, His will, His world, His people.

I do not believe in a God of "Oops - sorry about that." To do so neuters His power and makes us to believe in only the God of Sunny Days.

The words omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent are meaningful and tell us the character of God: he is indeed all powerful and can direct the storms as he pleases. He is nonetheless aware and knowing of the suffering, and with us through it all.

God Himself tells us this through Isaiah (45:5-8):

5 I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me,
6 so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other.
7 I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things."

Yes, God is willing to take credit for the good and for the bad. He gives and He takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21).

4 posted on 05/31/2011 8:39:16 AM PDT by alancarp (Liberals are all for shared pain... until they're included in the pain group.)

8 posted on 05/31/2011 8:55:19 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)

On April 3, 1974 an EF5 tornado devasted mush of the nearby town of Xenia OH. One of the affected families were members of our church and our pastor worked closely with them, helping them get settled in a new home, etc.
Over and over again he kept hearing the comment “Look what God did to Xenia”. It disturbed him a great deal, and so, the second Sunday after the storm, when the family had recovered enough from their injuries to return to church, he made that comment the subject of his sermon.
Simply put, his message was “God created nature, but He does NOT control it.”

10 posted on 05/31/2011 9:05:51 AM PDT by Wiser now (Liberalism is immaturity, cloaked with the pretense of moral and intellectual superiority.)

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