Are there REALLY people out there that believe that terrible events are "God's Wrath"?? (hurricanes, etc)

Question

I have seen a number of people that seem to suggest that when something big happens (such as Hurricane Katrina hitting New Orleans, etc).. It is because God is pouring out his wrath on sinners, etc..

I am curious if there are actually people that believe this kind of thing, or if someone is just trying to come up with stupid excuses for these events...

I've even heard people say such absolutely moronic things as 9/11 having been related to God dealing with some people for some reason.. (Something which I think is so disgusting to suggest).

I am a Christian and I don't believe these types of suggestions in the least. However, because I have heard of people seeming to really believe them (including from my understanding famous preachers).. I just was curious what people had to say about it..

If you do believe it.. I would like to know your reasoning.

When I ask this, I am specifically referring to people that suggest that Katrina was because of the sins of the people of New Orleans.. or that 9/11 was because of the Greed of Americans, etc etc..

I realize that God CAN do things, that really wasn't my meaning.. Moreso whether people believe that these matters were caused by him for these type of reasons..

I certainly don't believe they were..

As for the person that suggested that Christians were warned about 9/11 (or something like that..) .. If God had told someone about it, what kind of person would they be for not doing something to stop it? Disgusting.

I'm Christian, and I certainly hope my God didn't do these things.

Answer 1

If you are a Christian, you have a good reason to believe it: God said he causes these things, according to the Bible.

Isaiah 29:6 Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.

That's not exactly the one I was looking for. I see Nana (the person below my answer) got it first.


At the very least, you have a God who permits these things and designed the world in such a way that these things would happen (unless you believe in a God who did not create the world or is not powerful enough to stop them from occurring).

Answer 2

Have you ever thought you seemed to have a knack for predicting who was on the other side of a telephone call when they ring you?

However, these same people, when they actually track their predictions, fail to achieve anything over chance in guessing the caller?

It turns out that we tend to remember the one's we guess right (excitement, etc.) and forget the one's we guess wrong, so our memory plays a trick on us, and we buy into it without checking the facts.

Imagine hating someone so completely that you would imagine a God vengeful enough to destroy them, and then imagine a disaster strikes them?

Even after being hit by that huge earthquake in Iran, the Iranians still believed (some of them) that Katrina was God punishing the "Great Satan". Worse, they saw their own disaster as proof they weren't doing enough to punish us!

Yes, they do believe, because they fall into the same reasoning trap that all superstitious people do.

God exists (from my experience), but he has yet to show any pattern in allowing or disallowing the natural functioning of the Earth that is easily noted.

Answer 3

Yes, I do believe that God can bring about destruction such as hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes. He is God and can do anything.

Now whether or not the "big" events that happen today are judgments from God is a different matter. I don't think anyone can say for sure that God was behind any of these because God has not explicitly stated so. In the Bible we do have record of large Biblical plagues that God Himself takes account for.

Can God bring about large destructive events today? Yes He can, just as He can bring about the most smallest destructive events that occur in nature.

Answer 4

Unfortunately, there are such people. Though I am an atheist, I do not discount the beliefs of others. They just don't work for me. However, the Christian god is largely held to be benevolent, good, loving, etc., so to believe these events are the wrath of that god runs contrary to how they view him. It seems like a counter-argument to those claims.

Answer 5

The wrath of God is being stored up in bowls for the day of wrath. It is written that God protects believers from this day.

So, the hurricanes is rooted in a judgment God made to allow the devil to do it. Like hurricane Katrina. We pressured Israel to withdraw from Gaza & they did just before hurricane Katrina hit US. Curse Israel, receive a curse. In this case, land for land. God knew 9/11 would happen & prevented many deaths & none of the victims were lost to hell fire. As 9/11 was revealed prophetically to Christians prior to it happening, who really didn't understand what God was revealing to them. Kim Clement received a powerful warning of this years before 9/11 happened. So, the problem is us not listening to Gods warnings. As I try to be more attentitive in prayer today since these things.

Just like Sunamis. These don't take God by surprise. If people were truly listening to God, they wouldn't be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unless God told them to be there. There is always a root reason. And the children do go to heaven when a victim.

Answer 6

I personally do not have this mentality, but a teacher I had in high school believed that birth defects were caused by the Devil. I argued to no end with her about this, asking if they were not meant to be that way for God's purpose. I believe that horrible things that happen are God's will - as horrible as that may be. I believe this because we can not tell how these events have changed us, or even those directly related with it. I believe everything is about the change, the consequence. However, saying that God has caused something to happen to punish people....to me that is an abomination.

Answer 7

Because the Bible tells me so;

Isaiah 45:5-7 (Amplified Bible)



5I am the Lord, and there is no one else; there is no God besides Me. I will gird and arm you, though you have not known Me,

6That men may know from the east and the rising of the sun and from the west and the setting of the sun that there is no God besides Me. I am the Lord, and no one else [is He].

7I form the light and create darkness, I make peace [national well-being] and I create [physical] [a]evil (calamity); I am the Lord, Who does all these things.


Jeremiah 51:16 (New American Standard Bible)




16When He utters His (A)voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
And He causes the (B)clouds to ascend from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain
And brings forth the (C)wind from His storehouses.

Answer 8

My God has not yet poured his wrath out upon this world.
My God will not stay his hand forever.
When my God pours out his wrath, no one will be left standing. Every knee will bow.
Events of nature are just that, events of nature.
Acts of terrorists are just that, acts of terrorists.
Do I believe that there are people who have a curse put onto them by God, yes.
The word of God says that the sins of the Father can be passed down unto the fourth and fifth generation. Try reading the Book of Ruth.

Answer 9

Yeah.. check out Fred Phelps..

You can go to his website www.godhatesfags.com

Or check him out on Wikipedia -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps

His congregation is mainly his family. It's his Baptist church that also pickets soldier funerals and credits 9/11 and Katrina on god. Says we're wicked sinners he does. His daughter is the spokesperson of the church.. she's a doosey too. What's even funnier is that he and his daughter are both attorneys.. he being a civil rights attorney. Go figure.

Answer 10

People believe in that sort of nonsense because so-called religious leaders are putting the idea in their heads. Take Pat Robertson for example. That moron frequently does this, but you'll notice there is always a trend he follows. People he doesn't like or agree with are the ones who get punished by his god. (Gay people, liberals, Hugo Chavez.) People who he does agree with are 'victims'. (Israel, Capitalism)
And he certainly isn't the only one using this tactic. There are probably thousands of religious 'leaders' who are preaching against their enemies at this very moment.