Natural Disasters VS. Acts of God?

Question

I am in a Speech Debate Class at my school, and for our final exam, we were placed in to groups to debate his issue. I was grouped into the Pro-Natural Disasters group.

I am a confirmed Catholic, and am having a lot of troubles finding factual evidence for the Natural Disaster side of things.

Answer 1

Natural disasters are caused by both man made and natural actions.

People die in hurricanes and Tsunamis because they were too close to the coast when that event occurred.

Forest fires caused by lightning or a dropped cigarette remove trees and under brush that hold the soil on mountain and hill sides.
Waxy residues coat the ash and when it rains the water runs off and does not soak into the soil causing mudslides. People die because they build their houses on mountain and hillsides.

Every "natural" disaster is all about cause and effect, not caused by "god".

Answer 2

The simplest answer I can give you is this –
Sometimes great forces are necessary to keep our planet in balance. We live on a fragile crust atop shifting plats atop a ball of fire. The constant interactions of the atmosphere and oceans sustain life but when there is conflicting conditions, storms happen.

We call these natural forces of our planet disasters when they interfere with our lives and cause death and destruction. But the more people populate the planet, the better the chances that a natural event will cause trouble.

This past winter terrible tornadoes slammed Florida causing death and destruction. Now if this exact same system had come through 20 years ago, it probably would not have caused any more damage than perhaps destroying a few fences on a farm. Why? This area has become heavily populated within the past 20 years including some mobile home retirement parks so large they are almost towns in themselves.

As the human population continues its general sprawl across every habitable mile of this planet, we must expect more and more natural events to interfere with human activity thus becoming disasters.

Have you ever been to a beach and built a sand castle? Eventually a wave will roll in and wash it away. We have built a lot of very expensive sand castles along many of the world’s beaches. Tsunamis and hurricanes cause really big waves.

Answer 3

Factual evidence for the natural disaster side? Go get the facts from the National Weather Center or whatever it's called nowadays. Cite the fact that during certain portions of every year hurricanes hit the east coast and Gulf of Mexico coastline of the US. We who live here know this, and when a hurricane comes ... you leave. Anyone who stays is a fool.

You can visit a site and study how the weather affects the planet, keeping it cool, cleaning it up or clearing it out for regrowth by fire. You can show how weather is an all-affecting thing for our planet, necessary and important to keep the planet going.

You can show that this is how God set it up, and if you don't get out of the way when it comes, naturally you will be killed.

Answer 4

I propose the following:

1. That (so-called) "acts of God" and "natural disasters" are one in the same.

2. That these "earth changes" (acts of God, disasters, etc.) are a result of NEITHER God, NOR 'nature', but are a DIRECT result of the law of Cause and Effect.

The only 'problem' (as it were) is that at present we are not 'evolved' (aware) enough to either accept responsibility of our part in the equation which produces these 'acts of God' and/or disasters.

And, no I'm NOT just speaking about reducing our 'carbon footprint', but am speaking to such 'acts' as taking responsiblitty for our thoughts, attitudes, emotions, and how we treat our fellow man--which is ALL part of what we might characterize as "nature" (or the laws thereof).

We assign (or blame) God in no less fashion than acient primitive man assigned/blamed God for things that they did not understand. And, if you notice we haven't gotten much further in providing a reasonable explanation than they have or did. (?)

You say that you are having difficulty in finding what you call or would accept as being "factual evidence" for the "Natural Disaster side of things".

What "factual evidence" have you "found" for "acts of God"?

If you could, what kind of "factual evidence" would you readily accept; and in either instance, how have you determined that whomever you are debating with will accept the same set of "factual evidence" that you will or have?

Regards,

Answer 5

James 1:12-15: Happy is the man that keeps on enduring trial, because on becoming approved he will receive the crown of life, which Jehovah promised to those who continue loving him. 13 When under trial, let no one say: “I am being tried by God.” For with evil things God cannot be tried nor does he himself try anyone. 14 But each one is tried by being drawn out and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then the desire, when it has become fertile, gives birth to sin; in turn, sin, when it has been accomplished, brings forth death.


God don´t send natural disaster he brought a flood yes but destroyed all evil, and will bring a great tribulation but his judgement days are selective that means destroy the evil not suffering people with discrimination.

Answer 6

Wow, big topic how much time do you have?
You 'll have to think deep here
Sin is the cause of all the worlds sorrows and in the spiritual order or realm of things it has a profound effect. Just as prayer, penance and fasting can stop wars. These all have power to either change the hearts of man or to harden it
The fact that God permits physical and even moral evil is a mystery that God illuminates by his Son Jesus Christ who died and rose to vanquish evil. Faith gives us the certainty that God would not permit an evil if he did not cause a good to come from that very evil, by ways that we shall fully know only in eternal life. He permits the disasters as trial or tribulations so that we may return to Him. You could even say it is a punishment that He allows because of our transgression out of His Love for us. What Father would not punish there child for wrong doing.
We firmly believe that God is master of the world and of its history. But the ways of his providence are often unknown to us. Only at the end, when our partial knowledge ceases, when we see God "face to face", will we fully know the ways by which - even through the dramas of evil and sin - God has guided his creation to that definitive sabbath rest for which he created heaven and earth.
You can see for yourself the ungliness state of the world is in for much is in control of satan who himself is ugly but was once the most beautiful of all the angels and conversly the world would be paradise if we all lived lives of heroic virtue

Answer 7

I'm not certain I understand what the "debate" is about, but if you are meant to argue that natural disasters are not CAUSED by god, why not point out that a good god would not murder innocents, a loving god would not cause suffering, and an orderly god would not create choas?

Answer 8

There are only four possibilities. Draw a 2 x 2 square and populate the side with God did it, and God did not do it. On the top, populate it with Bad thing happened, and Good thing happened.

The four possibilities are:
1) Bad thing happened, and God did it
2) Bad thing happened and God did not do it
3) Good thing happened and God did it
4) Good thing happened and God did not do it

Now consider how the god-believers only focus on possibilities #2 and 3, but never consider possibility #1 unless the bad thing happened to someone(s) who were themselves bad and deserved it. God believers never consider possibility #4.

Now, consider just possibilities #2 and 4...wouldn't that explain the reality of the situation? No need for any God to explain reality.

Answer 9

Look at what Jesus had to say about the issue.

Luke 13:1 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

Then consider this.

Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned--

Romans 8:19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.


God's perfect creation was corrupted by sin. Before that there were no natural disasters that took the lives and property of people.

Answer 10

Natural Disasters = Acts of God

added: there are differences between natural disasters and man-made disasters