Meditation 921
God's Message is...?
by: JT
To open a discussion on this Meditation, please use the contact page to provide your comments.
Last Sunday, while Hurricane Irene was still taking lives and still causing massive damage in the USA, Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann stated at a political rally in Florida:
"I don't know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians. We've had an earthquake; we've had a hurricane. He said, 'Are you going to start listening to me here?"'
According to Bachmann, God's message was that government should rein in its spending. Strangely enough, if that was God's message, one of the hardest hit states was New Jersey which has managed to balance its books.
Bachmann later claimed she was joking and that she has a great sense of humor. In my view, particularly given the timing, at least one of those two claims (and possibly both) is a flat out lie.
Nevertheless, suppose both the earthquake and the hurricane really were a message from a deity. What would that message be? It would all depend on the perspective of the person interpreting the message.
- A Hindu from India might claim Krishna was punishing the US for all the aid given to Pakistan.
- A Palestinian Muslim might claim it was punishment from Allaf for the US support of Israel.
- An apocalyptic preacher would claim it's a sign of the coming apocalypse.
- Fred Phelps might claim... well we all know what that raving loony would say.
- A moderate Christian might say that God's message to the US was to stop listening to the nutcase politicians from the religious right.
- A Mormon might say it's God's message to stop knocking Romney's special Mormon underwear.
And one could go on forever. And the message always depends on the preconcieved notions of the interpreter of the message.
But I will tell you the message from the earthquake and the hurricane. It's the same message that pretty much every earthquake and hurricane contains, and it does not require any involvement from a deity.
The message from the earthquake is: "You live in an earthquake zone. Be prepared for the next one."
The message from the hurricane is: "You live in an hurricane zone. Be prepared for the next one."
It doesn't take a degree in rocket science, nor a degree in theology to see that those are the only messages carried by earthquakes and hurricanes.