As we know, earthquakes and other natural disasters are caused by God. He causes these tragedies, which wreak havoc and kill many people, when He is offended by the actions of the remote ancestors of those people he kills. There are many incidents of this type in the Bible; His power, wisdom, and absolute goodness enables Him to punish children for the sins of their parents and balance the scales of justice even centuries after those who angered Him are dead.
I must say I was at first befuddled when I heard that an earthquake had struck Chile last week. The quake in Haiti had obvious justification; about 200 years ago leaders of the Haitian slave revolt against France entered into a pact with the Devil, exchanging the souls of distant descendants for freedom from French rule. The voodoo rituals then and the rituals that continue today in that primitive land must anger God greatly; though remaining angry for 200 years is not a problem for God, the severity of the earthquake showed the depth of His wrath clearly to everyone who truly knows God.
But the modern country of Chile remains roughly 70 per cent Roman Catholic, which means only those voodoo rituals approved by God are practiced. Is there something else?
According to Wikipedia, Chile was settled about 12,000 years ago by migrating native Americans. This must have been the first action that angered God; since He only created the universe 6,000 years ago, He had not yet given permission to enter the land. These early settlers were obviously mocking the Creator by existing before creation, clearly defying the Holy Scripture that was eventually written.
Chile also abolished slavery in 1823, long before the rest of the Americas. Slavery is an institution granted and sanctioned by God in Old Testament law; it is not for mortal man to change those laws. The arrogance shown by those who would abolish slavery is staggering; surely, they must have been mad with power to assume such God-like control over other men's lives.
So, the earthquake is clearly a punishment, a balancing of the scales of justice, although it still remains to be seen if the death toll will be high enough. We can only hope and pray.
Next Week: Why God Did Whatever Horrible Thing Happens This Week.
