Acts of God?

M

mee

Guest
Does the Bible teach that God is behind the natural disasters we see today? Not at all! God’s judgments as described in the Bible are quite different from natural disasters. For one thing, God is selective; he reads the hearts of individuals and destroys only those he deems wicked. (Genesis 18:23-32) Furthermore, God sends warnings first, thereby giving the righteous opportunity to escape.
Natural disasters, on the other hand, strike with little or no warning, and they kill and maim indiscriminately. To some extent, mankind has made such disasters worse by damaging the natural environment and by building in areas prone to earthquakes, floods, and extreme weather.
 
The Old Testament God is the opposite of selective: he wipes out entire populations. Saying that he "destroys only those he deems wicked" is not very comfortable when he deems EVERYBODY wicked.
 
yes! its God's fault! Everything! (Still wanna worship him now?) In fact, I think we should rebel, overthrow him... he's a despot...
 
bobx what would you say to this verse:

Matthew 21:44 "...and he who is falling on this stone shall be broken, and on whomsoever it may fall it will crush him to pieces." (Jesus Christ)


Mee you've quoted from verses that drew my attention... my favorites there:

Genesis 18:17-19 (Young's literal) and Jehovah said, "Am I concealing from Abraham that which I am doing, and Abraham certainly becometh a nation great and mighty, and blessed in him have been all nations of the earth? For I have known him, that he commandeth his children, and his house after him (and they have kept the way of Jehovah), to do righteousness and judgment, that Jehovah may bring on Abraham that which He hath spoken concerning him."

Genesis 19:9 (KJV) And they said, Stand back. And they said again, "This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door."

I slipped in the Young's literal to more accurately get the 'Jehovah'. I think the flesh profits nothing regardless of what gets it. If the sun and the planet are going to die, and the universe will end someday... the flesh is going to die regardless of what kills it.
 
True Acts of God

To help clear up confusion over the meaning of the phrase “act of God,” we first need to understand the criteria, or conditions, that an event must meet to be a true act of God.

The Bible clearly tells us that God is Almighty. (Exodus 6:3) But it also says: “Perfect is his activity, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, with whom there is no injustice; righteous and upright is he.”—Deuteronomy 32:4.

Knowing that Jehovah is just, upright, and consistent helps to fix the criteria that enable us to determine when a catastrophe is truly an act of God. Some key factors are: (1) It is always in harmony with God’s purpose; (2) God gives advance warning before acting; (3) he gives instructions to obedient ones for survival.

With this in mind, consider two occasions when God did act to bring a disaster. One was during the time of Noah, over 4,300 years ago.
Another act of God took place several centuries after the Flood. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah faced destruction from God because of their gross immorality.

What was the attitude of the people in those cities?
 
Francis king said:
yes! its God's fault! Everything! (Still wanna worship him now?) In fact, I think we should rebel, overthrow him... he's a despot...
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Fighters Against God Cannot Succeed

James 4;8 Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you.
(Isaiah 55:6) Search for Jehovah, YOU people, while he may be found. Call to him while he proves to be near.
 
greymare said:
so there was no innocent in Sodom and Gomorah(pardon my spelling)?????????
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According to scripture, there was only one innocent. That was Lot. Even his wife was foolish enough to pine for the past (she looked back when God specifically told her not to), and paid with that error with her life.

Lot was not especially strong in his faith or gumption either (he would have sent his daughters out to be abused by the crowd), but his uncle (Abraham), plead with God to spare him. He also succumbed to strong wine (plied by his two daughters), and then made them pregnant (though he allegedly did not know that he slept with them).

Unlike what many Christians are taught, Sodom and Gomorrah were not destroyed due to homosexual behavior soley, but due to a very common issue that occurs everyday in modern times. They were powerful cities that did nothing to help their less fortunate neighbors, as well as being generally immoral (but isn't ignoring someone in need, the same thing?).

v/r

Q
 
bob x said:
The Old Testament God is the opposite of selective: he wipes out entire populations. Saying that he "destroys only those he deems wicked" is not very comfortable when he deems EVERYBODY wicked.
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Exactly. Should give a great deal of food for thought...

v/r

Q
 
Francis king said:
yes! its God's fault! Everything! (Still wanna worship him now?) In fact, I think we should rebel, overthrow him... he's a despot...
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That seems to be what Lucifer said and thought...look where it got the once most powerful and beautiful angel in the universe?...

v/r

Q
 
but ,
q were there not little children in these cities. Why would they have been destroyed? Thats the innocence I am talking about. Being born at the wrong place and time is hardly an infants fault. (am I being too maternal?) Also, just a question, but is there any scientific proof of these two cities being destroyed (by fire)?? Just askin....
 
greymare said:
but ,
q were there not little children in these cities. Why would they have been destroyed? Thats the innocence I am talking about. Being born at the wrong place and time is hardly an infants fault. (am I being too maternal?) Also, just a question, but is there any scientific proof of these two cities being destroyed (by fire)?? Just askin....
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There is no mention of children specifically, but God does state that all were in a wretched state. A documentary on the History channel showed the ruins of two cities by what used to be a waterway in the Middle East, and indeed the ground and what was left of the cities' foundations appear to have been scorched at some point...

v/r

Q
 
Angels from God helped Lot and his two daughters to escape to the nearby city of Zoar....................... it seems the angels of God are busy today as well .
(Revelation 14:6) And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, and he had everlasting good news to declare as glad tidings to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people,

going in the right direction can save our lives as well, finding out what the GOODNEWS is all about means we are in a better place of concealment , especially if we respond to the GOODNEWS and act on it and the direction of Jesus christ matthew 24;14 matthew 24;45-47
 
"Also, just a question, but is there any scientific proof of these two cities being destroyed (by fire)?? Just askin....
There is no mention of children specifically, but God does state that all were in a wretched state. A documentary on the History channel showed the ruins of two cities by what used to be a waterway in the Middle East, and indeed the ground and what was left of the cities' foundations appear to have been scorched at some point..."
But there were hardly any bodies at all. Whatever kind of upheaval destroyed Sdom and 'Umorah (probably, sulfurous gases released by earthquake activity, then catching fire), it gave plenty of warning for all the inhabitants to leave. The story in Genesis is a typical myth to account for unusual natural disasters: it was taken for granted then that natural disasters only happen because somebody did something to make the deities angry. One of the oldest parts of Genesis (written in particularly archaic Hebrew) is Gen. 14, which gives a different picture: the king of Sdom was a good friend and ally of Abraham.
 
Likewise, just as it occurred in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building. But on the day that Lot came out of Sod′om it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed them all. luke 17;29;29
 
“Remember the wife of Lot.”—LUKE 17:32.

AFTER telling about the marvelous deliverance that Jehovah performed in behalf of Noah and his family, the apostle Peter cited another historic example. He drew attention to the preservation of righteous Lot when Sodom and Gomorrah were reduced to ashes, as we read at 2 Peter 2:6-8. The details were preserved for our benefit. (Romans 15:4) Our taking to heart what occurred in connection with that deliverance can help to put us in line for preservation into God’s new world.
 
bob x said:
"Also, just a question, but is there any scientific proof of these two cities being destroyed (by fire)?? Just askin....
There is no mention of children specifically, but God does state that all were in a wretched state. A documentary on the History channel showed the ruins of two cities by what used to be a waterway in the Middle East, and indeed the ground and what was left of the cities' foundations appear to have been scorched at some point..."
But there were hardly any bodies at all. Whatever kind of upheaval destroyed Sdom and 'Umorah (probably, sulfurous gases released by earthquake activity, then catching fire), it gave plenty of warning for all the inhabitants to leave. The story in Genesis is a typical myth to account for unusual natural disasters: it was taken for granted then that natural disasters only happen because somebody did something to make the deities angry. One of the oldest parts of Genesis (written in particularly archaic Hebrew) is Gen. 14, which gives a different picture: the king of Sdom was a good friend and ally of Abraham.
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Yes, apparently there is...and the story isn't a myth about what natural disasters can do, but rather what lengths God will go to for, a petitioner, and a righteous man. That is the moral of the story, that seems to have skipped right past you.
 
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