{"id":4453,"date":"2011-11-07T12:53:11","date_gmt":"2011-11-07T17:53:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=4453"},"modified":"2011-11-07T12:53:11","modified_gmt":"2011-11-07T17:53:11","slug":"god-sends-earthquakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2011\/11\/god-sends-earthquakes.html","title":{"rendered":"God Sends Earthquakes"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p><a href=\"http:\/\/scienceblogs.com\/erv\/2011\/11\/ok_earthquake_2011.php?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+scienceblogs%2Ferv+%28erv%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">In response to the Oklahoma earthquake<\/a> (<a href=\"http:\/\/thechurchofjesuschrist.us\/2011\/11\/pastor-paul-begley-is-a-ill-informed\/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheChurchOfJesusChrist+%28The+Church+of+Jesus+Christ%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">and pastor Paul Begley\u2019s<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/global.christianpost.com\/news\/oklahoma-earthquakes-today-are-a-sign-of-the-end-says-pastor-paul-begley-video-60644\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">religious interpretation of it<\/a>) I thought it appropriate to offer <a href=\"http:\/\/www.quickmeme.com\/meme\/359ave\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">an adapted version<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2011\/08\/the-connection-between-hurricane-irene-and-gay-marriage.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">an image I\u2019ve shared before<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"http:\/\/static.quickmeme.com\/media\/social\/qm.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4455\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2011\/11\/god-sends-earthquakes.html\/god-sends-earthquakes-2\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-4455\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/exploringourmatrix\/files\/2011\/11\/god-sends-earthquakes-300x293.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"293\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/Faiths\/2005\/09\/Did-God-Send-The-Hurricane.aspx\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">That<\/a> is of course the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bibleinfo.com\/en\/content\/does-god-send-killer-hurricanes\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">impression of God<\/a> that <a href=\"http:\/\/imageshack.us\/photo\/my-images\/204\/pr0vv.jpg\/sr=1\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Pat Robertson<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/mattbors.com\/blog\/2011\/09\/05\/weather\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">others like him give<\/a> all the time when they offer similar comments. Rather than glorifying God, they end up identifying God with nature, so that God disappears into the closing gaps of our understanding of the natural world for those who understand weather patterns and plate tectonics. They also give the impression of a God who is of limited power, using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2007\/11\/is-gods-aim-worsening-with-age.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">a blunt instrument with imprecise aim to vent his wrath<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In response to the Oklahoma earthquake (and pastor Paul Begley\u2019s religious interpretation of it) I thought it appropriate to offer an adapted version of an image I\u2019ve shared before: That is of course the impression of God that Pat Robertson and others like him give all the time when they offer similar comments. Rather than [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[85,101],"tags":[2929,4005,7383,7937,8344,8782,8816,10886],"class_list":["post-4453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science","category-theology","tag-earthquake","tag-god","tag-michelle-bachmann","tag-natural-disasters","tag-oklahoma","tag-pat-robertson","tag-paul-begley","tag-science"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>God Sends Earthquakes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In response to the Oklahoma earthquake (and pastor Paul Begley&#039;s religious interpretation of it) I thought it appropriate to offer an adapted version of\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2011\/11\/god-sends-earthquakes.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"God Sends Earthquakes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In response to the Oklahoma earthquake (and pastor Paul Begley&#039;s religious interpretation of it) I thought it appropriate to offer an adapted version of\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2011\/11\/god-sends-earthquakes.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. 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