It really looks like it from those terrible pictures and the human misery coming out of northern Japan, but no.
When the Haitian earthquake hit, Pat Robertson was swift to find a microphone and stupidly declare that this was a result of a deal struck with Satan long ago in exchange for freedom from French colonists. In fact, it seems any time a major disaster occurs, someone will step up and blame it on angering the gods. The Japanese Earthquake is no exception.
First, of course, there were the many who claimed global climate change was to blame, as if there never had been any quakes or tsunamis before Michael Mann’s infamous “hockey stick” graph started its uptick. Gaia is angry at man’s pollution, apparently. The proclamations of divine wrath did not stop there.
Tokyo’s colorful mayor Shintaro Ishihara, was asked what he thought the Japanese people should view the quake and tsunami. He responded:
So God is punishing Japan for its greed, according to Ishihara.
On the other hand we have the captain of the Sea Shepherd, Greenpeace’s pirate ship that tries to shut down whaling by ramming ships, shooting them with pepper missiles and interfering with their work. Captain Paul Watson wrote this poem on his Facebook page:
So again, a god, this time Neptune, is wrathful against man and sent the quake and tsunami, according to Paul Watson.
Glenn Beck, fresh after a vacation on his radio show was less direct about the quake but suggested God might be trying to tell us something as well:
What God does is God’s business. But I’ll tell you this, whether you call it Gaia or whether you call it Jesus, there’s a message being sent; ‘Hey, you know that stuff we’re doing. It’s not really working out. Maybe we should stop doing some of it.’ I’m just saying.
I would think our first response to a horrible disaster that has killed thousands should be to try to find some way to help the stricken people with food, aid, money, and prayers, not to try boost your personal cause or agenda. The God I worship calls us to compassion, helping the helpless, and assisting those in need, even at our personal cost. Even if you aren’t part of an organized religion, I think we can all agree that’s the proper response to the plight of the Japanese people.
