To Those Christians On My Friends List...

[badstar]

(or anyone else with an informed opinion)

This is (obviously I think) not my original thought, but it makes sense based on what I know. What do you think? (The hurricane, in this context is just a random example, this isn't debating a particular occurence)

If you believe Jesus is our savior, a hurricane can't be interpretted as punishment by God. By doing so you denounce Christ as our Savior.

Comments

[linzbinz.livejournal.com]

Eh, I think that statement is a bit hardcore... And I don't believe that God makes things like earthquakes and tsunamis and stuff happen as punishment. Because "good" Christians are affected. So that wouldn't make senes.

Father, Son, Holy Ghost != mutually exclusive

[fervid-dryfire.livejournal.com]

If you believe Jesus is our savior, a hurricane can't be interpretted as punishment by God. By doing so you denounce Christ as our Savior.

False. Misguided and probably with good intentions, but ultimately false.

Making a parallel like this- between God the Father's actions, and the salvation offered through Christ the Son- is a definite non sequitur fallacy.

Whoever wrote that statement doesn't seem to have much of an understanding of the Holy Trinity and how it works; they can (and do) work (semi-)independently of one another in a number of ways, that's why they're identified separately in the first place.

[leiacat.livejournal.com]

I'm not a Christian, and it's quite the opposite of my own theology that hurricanes are punishments, but: to me this reads as a set of utter non-sequiturs.

The "salvation" bit is intended for afterlife - I don't believe it states anywhere in the contract that random divine intervention (whether positive or negative) is disallowed during one's lifetime. If one intends to believe in natural disasters as divine punishment, I'm not aware of anything in the doctrine that contradicts it.

An over-simplifying parallel: even if the parents told a teenager that they are not grounded if they admit to sneaking out of the house last night, the teen still has to pay the neighbor for the fence broken in the process. One "deal" does not negate the other.

But, hey, not my theology. I just don't like seeing obvious fallacies.

[wasabi-poptart.livejournal.com]

this kind of thinking--confusing acts of nature with divine retribution--is precisely why I'm not a Christian anymore.

[sunneyone.livejournal.com]

I wholeheartedly agree with that quote. The thing is, the fuckers who have the kind of mentality that would say a hurricane is a punishment are more into the old testament than they are they new testament.