Sunday, March 13, 2011

Miyagi Prefecture Update

From FoxNews:

Official: Death Toll in Japan Quake 'Likely' to Exceed 10,000

Keep praying. A note about the picture in the story: Tagajo, where it was taken, is a few miles inland. It is the train station in which we would arrive before going to Takayama, the missionary community.

2 comments:

  1. James, can you explain why you think prayer will have any effect here? Do you seriously think that a god that would allow this kind of destruction is going to make any changes whatsoever because of prayer?

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  2. This is what I believe: When God created the heavens and the earth, they were wondrous creations—but they have rules. These rules are often cast aside to the great consequence of the people who do so. The fact is that, without earthquakes, or continental drift, there would be no redistribution of nutrients or minerals. Further, in a static environment, evolution would likely not occur. When earthquakes happen, they put into play all kinds of different actions, one of which, as we have seen, is a tsunami. God did not tell the people there “go thou and build thy houses on the coast in a tectonically active zone.” They did that anyway. The town of Hanabuchi got wiped out in 1964 by the Anchorage earthquake. The people came back, just as they will again. It is life on this planet. God is, as the New Testament states, more concerned with our immortal souls than with our physical bodies. That doesn't mean that prayer is not answered. I have seen prayer answered. You might say that it is coincidence. Maybe. But my faith makes me believe otherwise.

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