Earthquake/tsunami disaster
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Guest
Earthquake/tsunami disaster
Do you believe that Tsunami disaster is an act of God? I strongely believe that it was and that nothing could have prevented it from happening. Lets hear what the others have to say.
Act of God
"What, is not an act of God?" name one.
Re: Act of God
God knows what man will do but God does not interfere with man's decision. That is called Free Will. If you decide to kill someone, you can not blame God and say it was his decision. Man has the freedom to choose and is therefore accountable for his actions.shamsu wrote:"What, is not an act of God?" name one.
Nature has no freedom to choose and is not accountable for its action, Tsunami or others.
One of the interpretation of that "Amanat" refered in the Quran that God proposed to nature, animals etc.. which they all refused is "free will". Only man accepted it.
excellent point
Excellent point.
Now
"What should we call the life-force of Man?"
Now
"What should we call the life-force of Man?"
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Guest
Re: Earthquake/tsunami disaster
Here is a quote from an articleAnonymous wrote:Do you believe that Tsunami disaster is an act of God? I strongely believe that it was and that nothing could have prevented it from happening. Lets hear what the others have to say.
"We are living in a fallen universe, a universe we caused to fall, so God is deliberately subjecting our universe to His anger," Parker said.
"Why? Not because He doesn't love us, but because we must never feel self-sufficient. Because we need to be reminded constantly that we're not our own gods.
I suppose the above clarifies it all.
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Guest
Re: Act of God
nagib wrote:God knows what man will do but God does not interfere with man's decision. That is called Free Will. If you decide to kill someone, you can not blame God and say it was his decision. Man has the freedom to choose and is therefore accountable for his actions.shamsu wrote:"What, is not an act of God?" name one.
You are right. Here is what Quran says:
Verily, God does not change man's condition unless they change that which is in themselves.
-- Quran
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Guest
Re: Earthquake/tsunami disaster
This is where God was during the Tsunami...
by
Amyn Dahya
Over the past few days, we have all witnessed great human tragedy
caused by
the Tsunami. This tragic event has raised many scientific, spiritual,
and
ethical questions, whose answers are not simple. The key question that
is
being asked by many is, “Why would God let such a tragedy occur?” As a
scientist, author, and philosopher, I wish to offer a broader
perspective on
this matter.
During my journey of learning, I was inspired with an understanding of
the
relationship between the creator and creation. The best way for me to
articulate this understanding is by asking you to imagine the creator
as
being a circular core of infinite light, like the sun. Now imagine that
all
living and non-living forms exist along the periphery of this circle,
with
their roots firmly embedded in the light. According to this image, we
are
all integrally connected to our source through these roots. This makes
each
one of us an empowered being because we are part of a source that
embodies
infinite intelligence, providing us with life energy, resources,
thought,
inspiration, and everything that defines us as human beings. The same
is
true for all plants, animals, birds, organisms, etc. Hence, together,
we
form one humanity, one environment, and one universe that is held
together
by the infinite intelligence, which some of us refer to as God.
This infinite intelligence flows through all creation on a continuous
basis,
ensuring that our planet is always at equilibrium, providing us with
optimal
life supporting sustenance. However, as we evolve with respect to our
lifestyle, so does the planet. As we carelessly discharge pollution
into our
rivers and oceans, the forces of equilibrium are caused to engage in
order
to cleanse the pollution. Whilst human beings are a relatively young
civilisation, our planet has sustained itself for billions of years
through
its powers of evolution that come from the infinite intelligence.
Now let us attempt to understand what happened during the Tsunami,
within
this context. Let us imagine that there is a vast colony of
microorganisms,
plants, and fish that live within a pond that serves as their ecosystem
(or
world), which is fully endowed with life hosting capabilities. Now let
us
imagine that we discharge a huge volume of industrial effluent into
this
pond from a local chemical plant. What happens? All living organisms
suffer
toxic shock and many of them get killed or disabled. If we could see
this
event through the eyes of those organisms, it would appear as if a
chemical
Tsunami had taken place. Over time, the infinite intelligence causes
restoration of the pond through oxygenation from the rain and transport
of
spores and seeds, which revive the life of the pond. In such a
scenario, the
organisms that were afflicted could ask the question, “Why did God let
that
happen?” In reality, there was an action, followed by a reaction and
then
restoration of equilibrium. The infinite intelligence, or God, was
present
in all these three events as a constant life energy source.
In my humble opinion, I believe that the great tragedy of the Tsunami,
with
such catastrophic loss of human life, may have been part of a process
of
restoring equilibrium and sustaining the life hosting capabilities of
our
planet. It is possible that the heavy pollution load in the oceans and
the
adverse consequences of global warming (amongst other factors) may have
acted as a trigger that caused this painful evolutionary process. Could
the
earthquake and its related phenomena have given rise to the creation of
new
cleansing organisms in the oceans? Could the massive surge in water
flow
over such large distances have super-oxygenated the water to achieve
enhanced purification? Could the new blend of flora and fauna that will
now
emerge be better suited to handle our heavy pollution loads? Could this
tragedy have rekindled the human sprit with a renewed sense of unity,
love,
and compassion at a time when the world is reeling with division, war,
hatred, and injustice? These are questions that beg to be asked when
trying
to understand this painful catastrophe.
When we personify God as a great Being that loves us and teaches us
what is
best, it is easy to miss the big picture, because we tend to seek our
answers within specific and isolated events. Yet, if we consider these
divine attributes of God as residing within an infinite intelligence,
whose
presence is continuous in all events whether they may be positive,
negative,
or corrective, then we have no need to question our faith. If we
consider
all of humanity as being part of one source, then all the ethics taught
by
our religions make complete sense, for if I hurt my neighbour, I am
indeed
hurting myself. I humbly believe that the events surrounding the
Tsunami
need to be viewed within this wider context. Also, the outpouring of
love,
sympathy, and support from the rest of humanity at this difficult time
can
be viewed as part of a corrective process that is driven by unity and
compassion – the very characteristics we ascribe to God.
The bigger question lies in what lessons we as humanity can learn from
this
heart-breaking tragedy. If there is a minute chance that we may have
caused
this harsh, corrective, natural phenomenon due to our lifestyle and
absence
of a united consciousness against pollution, global warming, and
environmental neglect, then it is time for us all to initiate important
and
necessary changes in our world. We are all empowered beings and,
collectively, we can bring together leadership that will nurture a rich
consciousness towards making our world a better place for generations
to
come. If we can at least make a positive start towards this process,
then
our fellow loved ones may not have died in vain…
© Amyn Dahya, January 3, 2005
by
Amyn Dahya
Over the past few days, we have all witnessed great human tragedy
caused by
the Tsunami. This tragic event has raised many scientific, spiritual,
and
ethical questions, whose answers are not simple. The key question that
is
being asked by many is, “Why would God let such a tragedy occur?” As a
scientist, author, and philosopher, I wish to offer a broader
perspective on
this matter.
During my journey of learning, I was inspired with an understanding of
the
relationship between the creator and creation. The best way for me to
articulate this understanding is by asking you to imagine the creator
as
being a circular core of infinite light, like the sun. Now imagine that
all
living and non-living forms exist along the periphery of this circle,
with
their roots firmly embedded in the light. According to this image, we
are
all integrally connected to our source through these roots. This makes
each
one of us an empowered being because we are part of a source that
embodies
infinite intelligence, providing us with life energy, resources,
thought,
inspiration, and everything that defines us as human beings. The same
is
true for all plants, animals, birds, organisms, etc. Hence, together,
we
form one humanity, one environment, and one universe that is held
together
by the infinite intelligence, which some of us refer to as God.
This infinite intelligence flows through all creation on a continuous
basis,
ensuring that our planet is always at equilibrium, providing us with
optimal
life supporting sustenance. However, as we evolve with respect to our
lifestyle, so does the planet. As we carelessly discharge pollution
into our
rivers and oceans, the forces of equilibrium are caused to engage in
order
to cleanse the pollution. Whilst human beings are a relatively young
civilisation, our planet has sustained itself for billions of years
through
its powers of evolution that come from the infinite intelligence.
Now let us attempt to understand what happened during the Tsunami,
within
this context. Let us imagine that there is a vast colony of
microorganisms,
plants, and fish that live within a pond that serves as their ecosystem
(or
world), which is fully endowed with life hosting capabilities. Now let
us
imagine that we discharge a huge volume of industrial effluent into
this
pond from a local chemical plant. What happens? All living organisms
suffer
toxic shock and many of them get killed or disabled. If we could see
this
event through the eyes of those organisms, it would appear as if a
chemical
Tsunami had taken place. Over time, the infinite intelligence causes
restoration of the pond through oxygenation from the rain and transport
of
spores and seeds, which revive the life of the pond. In such a
scenario, the
organisms that were afflicted could ask the question, “Why did God let
that
happen?” In reality, there was an action, followed by a reaction and
then
restoration of equilibrium. The infinite intelligence, or God, was
present
in all these three events as a constant life energy source.
In my humble opinion, I believe that the great tragedy of the Tsunami,
with
such catastrophic loss of human life, may have been part of a process
of
restoring equilibrium and sustaining the life hosting capabilities of
our
planet. It is possible that the heavy pollution load in the oceans and
the
adverse consequences of global warming (amongst other factors) may have
acted as a trigger that caused this painful evolutionary process. Could
the
earthquake and its related phenomena have given rise to the creation of
new
cleansing organisms in the oceans? Could the massive surge in water
flow
over such large distances have super-oxygenated the water to achieve
enhanced purification? Could the new blend of flora and fauna that will
now
emerge be better suited to handle our heavy pollution loads? Could this
tragedy have rekindled the human sprit with a renewed sense of unity,
love,
and compassion at a time when the world is reeling with division, war,
hatred, and injustice? These are questions that beg to be asked when
trying
to understand this painful catastrophe.
When we personify God as a great Being that loves us and teaches us
what is
best, it is easy to miss the big picture, because we tend to seek our
answers within specific and isolated events. Yet, if we consider these
divine attributes of God as residing within an infinite intelligence,
whose
presence is continuous in all events whether they may be positive,
negative,
or corrective, then we have no need to question our faith. If we
consider
all of humanity as being part of one source, then all the ethics taught
by
our religions make complete sense, for if I hurt my neighbour, I am
indeed
hurting myself. I humbly believe that the events surrounding the
Tsunami
need to be viewed within this wider context. Also, the outpouring of
love,
sympathy, and support from the rest of humanity at this difficult time
can
be viewed as part of a corrective process that is driven by unity and
compassion – the very characteristics we ascribe to God.
The bigger question lies in what lessons we as humanity can learn from
this
heart-breaking tragedy. If there is a minute chance that we may have
caused
this harsh, corrective, natural phenomenon due to our lifestyle and
absence
of a united consciousness against pollution, global warming, and
environmental neglect, then it is time for us all to initiate important
and
necessary changes in our world. We are all empowered beings and,
collectively, we can bring together leadership that will nurture a rich
consciousness towards making our world a better place for generations
to
come. If we can at least make a positive start towards this process,
then
our fellow loved ones may not have died in vain…
© Amyn Dahya, January 3, 2005