Does the earthquake in Haiti prove God doesn't exist?

[Ishamael]

(02-07-2011 08:53 AM)D B Sweeney Wrote:  Believers tend to thank god for the positive things that happen after a global disaster but never, surprisingly, blame god for causing the self same disaster in the first place.

Truthfully speaking, to solidify their faith, believers thank God for their positive things, and believe him not to be responsible for the negatives, because it will help them to build their faith in God. According to them, God can only allow something to happen if the result will lead to something better for humanity.

(02-07-2011 08:53 AM)D B Sweeney Wrote:  Surely god is omnipotent and can control any event in the infinite cosmos?. Therefore he is responsible for disasters just as much as he is responsible for the miracles of survival that we see after those disasters - funny how he lets so many innocents perish in them though?

There are a couple ways to approach this. The first is the obvious: We are short-sighted beings, with poor and finite definitions of what we consider to be good, bad, evil, etc. If the being that is all-powerful and all-knowing does something that we do not agree with, perhaps it is because He/She knows something that we don't. The greater positive that the event with result in. We see it day in a day out with parents and children. Due to lack of experience, and the lack of cognitive function to reason things for ourselves, when we are young, our parents do things for us, or let things happen, etc. They know something that we don't, that their action will result in. This is most likely positive (because sometimes you get those poor parents).
The next idea is that God created the universe, and left it under our rule. So, the laws of physics have been set, the consequences for certain actions have been put in place. This makes everything we choose to do to have another outcome. He doesn't need to put His hand in the universe again, to do anything. So, with this thought, God is neither responsible for the good, or the bad. Our own choices facilitate anything that happens to us.

[D B Sweeney]

I understand your points Ishamael and don't disagree with them. We're talking degrees of god here - not specific gods, just 'god' in general and then the Deist views and the people who believe god created the world then went shopping etc.
All have equal validity and at the same time no validity depending on which side your belief rests.

IMO sh*t 'appens and it always has. Man will always see it through different philosophical and religious lenses. Science will see it as it actually is without the distortion of religion or superstition. Occam's Razor tends to cut through lots of irrationality.

DB

[Witcher]

Nope it doesn't prove.

[CMF]

The earth's plates is gonna shft thats His design.