Pro-Humanist FREELOVER
2010-01-14 17:21:01 UTC
- - -
After major disasters, naturalistic or otherwise, religion
is oft-times used by some followers of religious faiths to
try to promote ideas about how the God they believe in
was or was not involved or responsible for the disaster,
and why that God supposedly was or was not involved.
The latest tragedy in Haiti (see link at the end of this post)
is no exception.
Here's a brief synopsis of some of the earthquakes that have
transpired (since 426 BCE), and the challenge presented to
those who wish to place God in the picture in some way:
Excerpts from "The Pessimists Guide to History",
by Stuart Flexner with Doris Flexner, from 1628 BC
to 1991 AD
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380762366
}} Comments/Excerpts from "Devastation! The World's
}} Worst Natural Disasters", by Lesley Newson, are
}} prefaced with "}}"
}} http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0789435187
...
}} Last 100 Years - "One million people have died as a
}} direct result of earthquakes. Another million have been
}} killed by hurricanes, typhoons, and tropical cyclones.
}} Over nine million have drowned in floods. Tens of mil-
}} lions more have been claimed by drought and disease ..."
...
426 B.C. - Greek earthquake kills thousands;
thousands more left injured or homeless.
373 B.C. - Earthquake causes Helice, Greece, to
sink into the Gulf of Corinth.
...
217 B.C. - Killer earthquake strikes Northern
Africa, killing more than 50 thousand.
...
19 B.C. - Over 100,000 killed by a severe earth-
quake in what is now modern-day Syria.
...
115 - Antioch, in what is now modern-day
Syria, destroyed by an earthquake; unknown
thousands killed.
...
365 - Alexandria, Egypt, wiped out by a tidal
wave from an earthquake.
...
526 - Antioch, Syria, earthquake kills 250,000.
...
1040 - Tabriz (in modern-day Iran) earthquake
kills over 50,000.
...
1169 - Mount Etna volcanic eruption in Sicily
results in 15,000 deaths from earthquakes and
tidal waves.
...
1456 - Naples, Italy, destroyed by earthquake;
50,000 die.
...
1531 - Lisbon, Portugal, earthquake kills 30,000.
1556 - January 23, 1556, earthquake in northern
China kills an estimated 830,000.
...
1626 - Naples, Italy, earthquake kills 70,000.
...
1693 - Naples, Italy, earthquake kills 93,000.
Catania, Italy, earthquake kills 60,000. Mount
Etna erupts, killing 18,000 on the island of
Sicily.
...
1703-1704 - Tokyo earthquake kills 37,000. Resulting
tidal waves wipe out entire villages.
...
1727 - Persian earthquake, in Tabriz (in modern-day
Iran) kills over 75,000.
1731 - Beijing, China, struck by massive earthquake;
100,000 die.
...
1737 - Calcutta, India, struck by a cyclone on
October 7, sending a 40 foot tidal wave crashing
ashore; 300,000 die. Four days later, a devastating
earthquake hits the city, killing another 300,000.
1754 - Cairo, Egypt, rocked by an earthquake;
40,000 die.
}} 1755 - From page 45 ... "The Roman Catholic resi-
}} dents of Lisbon believed that their good fortune
}} depended on faith in God; the Jesuits, who were
}} based in the city, taught the people that their salvation
}} depended on the strict observance of Catholic rituals.
}}
}} The Wrath of God - At 9:30 am, Sunday, November 1,
}} 1755, the faithful were gathered together in churches
}} and cathedrals all over Lisbon to celebrate All Saints'
}} Day. While priests were intoning mass, the ground
}} began to shake, walls swayed, and huge chunks of
}} masonry began falling on congregations across the
}} city. ... Some 60,000 people lost their lives in the
}} earthquake, 15,000 of whom lived in Lisbon. ...
}}
}} As the survivors watched Lisbon burn and grieved
}} for their losses, it was natural for them to inquire
}} why God had destroyed their churches and killed
}} the faithful on All Saints' Day. The question was
}} taken up by scholars all over Europe, many of whom
}} rejected mystic and religious reasons in favor of a
}} quest to find a scientific explanation for the cause
}} of this disaster. This enquiry led in time to the devel-
}} opment of modern geology.
}}
}} This revolution in thinking was reflected by the
}} practical actions of Portugal's chief minister, the
}} Marques de Pombal, who quickly assumed charge
}} of rebuilding Lisbon after the earthquake and forced
}} the Jesuits to leave the city."
1755 - Boston, Massachusetts, hit by the worst
earthquake in its history; no one dies.
...
1783 - Eight years of earthquakes strike Italy, with
the worst leveling Calabria and more than 180 towns in
the area, on February 4-5; 30,000 die outright, with
up to 30,000 dying as a result of the aftershocks and
famine which follow.
...
1794 - Combination volcano-earthquake kills 40,000
in Ecuador.
1797 - Earthquakes and volcanoes in Ecuador kill
40,000 or more.
...
1805 - Naples and Calabria, Italy, earthquake kills
over 26,000.
...
1811-1812 - Earthquakes strike New Madrid, Missouri;
death toll unknown; Mississippi River runs backwards
for hundreds of miles; tremors felt over an area of over
1.5 million square miles, nearly half the area of the
continental United States; death toll unknown.
1812 - Caracas, Venezuela, earthquake kills 20,000.
...
1819 - Genoa and Palermo, Italy, demolished by
an earthquake; 20,000 die.
1822 - Earthquakes strike Aleppo and Antioch,
Syria; 20,000 die.
...
1835 - Charles Darwin witnesses earthquake in Chile;
5,000 die.
...
1847 - Massive earthquake in Nagano, Japan; 34,000 die.
...
1857 - Earthquake strikes Tokyo, Japan; resulting fire kills
most of the 107,000 victims of this disaster.
...
1868 - Much of South America racked by an earthquake;
20,000 die.
...
1876 - Subsea earthquake causes 100 foot tsunamis to
crash ashore along a 300 mile section of coastline in
northeast Japan; 28,000 die.
...
1886 - Earthquake shakes eastern U.S.; 110 die.
1887 - Earthquake strikes French and Italian Riviera;
over 2,000 die.
...
1891 - Earthquake in central Japan; 7,300 die.
...
1896 - Subsea earthquake creates a huge tidal wave, 80 feet
high and 300 miles wide, which strikes Japan, sweeping
entire coastal towns into the ocean; 28,000 die.
...
1906 - San Francisco earthquake and fire; 700 die.
...
1908 - Messina, on the island of Sicily, collapses in ruin
from severe earthquakes; up to 250,000 die.
...
1920 - Earthquake in north central China (Gansu) kills 180,000
...
1923 - Earthquake strikes 60 miles offshore from Tokyo,
Japan; 30 foot tsunami and fires follow; 140,000 die.
...
1927 - Earthquake in north central China (Gansu) kills 100,000.
...
1932 - Earthquake in north central China (Gansu) kills 70,000.
...
1935 - Earthquake in northwestern India (now part of
Pakistan); 50,000 die.
...
1939 - Earthquake strikes Chillan, Chile; 50,000 die.
...
1939 - Earthquake strikes wide area of eastern and northern
Turkey; 50,000 die.
...
1949 - Earthquake destroys over a half dozen cities and towns
in Ecuador; 6,000 die.
...
1960 - Earthquake strikes Agadir, Morocco; 12,000 die.
...
1962 - Earthquake strikes western Iran; 10,000 die.
...
1964 - Alaska earthquake; 118 die.
...
1968 - Iranian earthquake; thousands injured, 12,000 die.
...
1970 - May 31, earthquake strikes northern Peru; Chim-
bote, a coastal city, was almost completely destroyed;
on Mount Huascaran, an avalanche of ice and rock
crashed into a lake, spawning a new avalanche of mud
and rock that then poured down over the resort town
of Yungay - the city was so completely buried that
only the tops of palm trees and a statue of Jesus could
be seen - incredibly, all but some 3,000 of the city's
41,000 were killed in the seconds it took the avalanche
to sweep through the city; altogether, between 50,000
and 70,000 die.
...
1972 - Managua, Nicaragua earthquake; estimated death
toll of 10,000 people.
...
1976 - Guatemalan earthquake, February 4; an estimated
23,000 die.
}} 1976 - From page 42 ... "The terrible earthquake that
}} hit northeast China on July 28, 1976 was the most
}} disastrous in modern times. It was focused directly
}} under the industrial city of Tangshan, which was
}} almost completely destroyed by a massive tremor
}} that measured 8.3 on the Richter Scale.
}}
}} The massive jolt struck suddenly and was responsible
}} for the deaths of one tenth of Tangshan's population.
}} It also caused severe damage well beyond the city.
}} In total, more than 240,000 died and 164,000 were
}} severely injured ..."
...
1978 - Earthquake in northeastern Iran; an estimated
25,000 die.
...
1980 - Southern Italy earthquakes; 5,000 die.
...
1985 - Mexico City earthquake on September 19; over
7,000 die.
...
1988 - Armenia earthquake on December 8; an estimated
60,000 die.
1990 - Earthquake ravages area along the Caspian Sea,
on June 21; more than 50,000 die.
...
- - - end excerpts - - -
2001 - Guarat, India earthquake, over 20,000 die.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Gujarat_earthquake
2003 - Bam, Iran earthquake, over 26,000 die.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Bam_earthquake
2004 - Sumatra, Indonesia earthquake and resulting tidal
wave, over 230,000 die.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake
2005 - Kashmir, Pakistan earthquake, over 79.000 die.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Kashmir_earthquake
2006 - Java earthquake, over 6,000 die.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_2006_Java_earthquake
2008 - Sichuan, China earthquake, over 69,000 die.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Sichuan_earthquake
2010 - Port-au-Prince, Haiti earthquake, death toll as of yet
unknown.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Haiti_earthquake
- - -
¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤
~~~
Pro-Humanist FREELOVER
http://prohuman.net
(Freethinking Realist Exploring
Expressive Liberty, Openness,
Verity, Enlightenment, & Rationality)"
~~~
After major disasters, naturalistic or otherwise, religion
is oft-times used by some followers of religious faiths to
try to promote ideas about how the God they believe in
was or was not involved or responsible for the disaster,
and why that God supposedly was or was not involved.
The latest tragedy in Haiti (see link at the end of this post)
is no exception.
Here's a brief synopsis of some of the earthquakes that have
transpired (since 426 BCE), and the challenge presented to
those who wish to place God in the picture in some way:
Excerpts from "The Pessimists Guide to History",
by Stuart Flexner with Doris Flexner, from 1628 BC
to 1991 AD
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380762366
}} Comments/Excerpts from "Devastation! The World's
}} Worst Natural Disasters", by Lesley Newson, are
}} prefaced with "}}"
}} http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0789435187
...
}} Last 100 Years - "One million people have died as a
}} direct result of earthquakes. Another million have been
}} killed by hurricanes, typhoons, and tropical cyclones.
}} Over nine million have drowned in floods. Tens of mil-
}} lions more have been claimed by drought and disease ..."
...
426 B.C. - Greek earthquake kills thousands;
thousands more left injured or homeless.
373 B.C. - Earthquake causes Helice, Greece, to
sink into the Gulf of Corinth.
...
217 B.C. - Killer earthquake strikes Northern
Africa, killing more than 50 thousand.
...
19 B.C. - Over 100,000 killed by a severe earth-
quake in what is now modern-day Syria.
...
115 - Antioch, in what is now modern-day
Syria, destroyed by an earthquake; unknown
thousands killed.
...
365 - Alexandria, Egypt, wiped out by a tidal
wave from an earthquake.
...
526 - Antioch, Syria, earthquake kills 250,000.
...
1040 - Tabriz (in modern-day Iran) earthquake
kills over 50,000.
...
1169 - Mount Etna volcanic eruption in Sicily
results in 15,000 deaths from earthquakes and
tidal waves.
...
1456 - Naples, Italy, destroyed by earthquake;
50,000 die.
...
1531 - Lisbon, Portugal, earthquake kills 30,000.
1556 - January 23, 1556, earthquake in northern
China kills an estimated 830,000.
...
1626 - Naples, Italy, earthquake kills 70,000.
...
1693 - Naples, Italy, earthquake kills 93,000.
Catania, Italy, earthquake kills 60,000. Mount
Etna erupts, killing 18,000 on the island of
Sicily.
...
1703-1704 - Tokyo earthquake kills 37,000. Resulting
tidal waves wipe out entire villages.
...
1727 - Persian earthquake, in Tabriz (in modern-day
Iran) kills over 75,000.
1731 - Beijing, China, struck by massive earthquake;
100,000 die.
...
1737 - Calcutta, India, struck by a cyclone on
October 7, sending a 40 foot tidal wave crashing
ashore; 300,000 die. Four days later, a devastating
earthquake hits the city, killing another 300,000.
1754 - Cairo, Egypt, rocked by an earthquake;
40,000 die.
}} 1755 - From page 45 ... "The Roman Catholic resi-
}} dents of Lisbon believed that their good fortune
}} depended on faith in God; the Jesuits, who were
}} based in the city, taught the people that their salvation
}} depended on the strict observance of Catholic rituals.
}}
}} The Wrath of God - At 9:30 am, Sunday, November 1,
}} 1755, the faithful were gathered together in churches
}} and cathedrals all over Lisbon to celebrate All Saints'
}} Day. While priests were intoning mass, the ground
}} began to shake, walls swayed, and huge chunks of
}} masonry began falling on congregations across the
}} city. ... Some 60,000 people lost their lives in the
}} earthquake, 15,000 of whom lived in Lisbon. ...
}}
}} As the survivors watched Lisbon burn and grieved
}} for their losses, it was natural for them to inquire
}} why God had destroyed their churches and killed
}} the faithful on All Saints' Day. The question was
}} taken up by scholars all over Europe, many of whom
}} rejected mystic and religious reasons in favor of a
}} quest to find a scientific explanation for the cause
}} of this disaster. This enquiry led in time to the devel-
}} opment of modern geology.
}}
}} This revolution in thinking was reflected by the
}} practical actions of Portugal's chief minister, the
}} Marques de Pombal, who quickly assumed charge
}} of rebuilding Lisbon after the earthquake and forced
}} the Jesuits to leave the city."
1755 - Boston, Massachusetts, hit by the worst
earthquake in its history; no one dies.
...
1783 - Eight years of earthquakes strike Italy, with
the worst leveling Calabria and more than 180 towns in
the area, on February 4-5; 30,000 die outright, with
up to 30,000 dying as a result of the aftershocks and
famine which follow.
...
1794 - Combination volcano-earthquake kills 40,000
in Ecuador.
1797 - Earthquakes and volcanoes in Ecuador kill
40,000 or more.
...
1805 - Naples and Calabria, Italy, earthquake kills
over 26,000.
...
1811-1812 - Earthquakes strike New Madrid, Missouri;
death toll unknown; Mississippi River runs backwards
for hundreds of miles; tremors felt over an area of over
1.5 million square miles, nearly half the area of the
continental United States; death toll unknown.
1812 - Caracas, Venezuela, earthquake kills 20,000.
...
1819 - Genoa and Palermo, Italy, demolished by
an earthquake; 20,000 die.
1822 - Earthquakes strike Aleppo and Antioch,
Syria; 20,000 die.
...
1835 - Charles Darwin witnesses earthquake in Chile;
5,000 die.
...
1847 - Massive earthquake in Nagano, Japan; 34,000 die.
...
1857 - Earthquake strikes Tokyo, Japan; resulting fire kills
most of the 107,000 victims of this disaster.
...
1868 - Much of South America racked by an earthquake;
20,000 die.
...
1876 - Subsea earthquake causes 100 foot tsunamis to
crash ashore along a 300 mile section of coastline in
northeast Japan; 28,000 die.
...
1886 - Earthquake shakes eastern U.S.; 110 die.
1887 - Earthquake strikes French and Italian Riviera;
over 2,000 die.
...
1891 - Earthquake in central Japan; 7,300 die.
...
1896 - Subsea earthquake creates a huge tidal wave, 80 feet
high and 300 miles wide, which strikes Japan, sweeping
entire coastal towns into the ocean; 28,000 die.
...
1906 - San Francisco earthquake and fire; 700 die.
...
1908 - Messina, on the island of Sicily, collapses in ruin
from severe earthquakes; up to 250,000 die.
...
1920 - Earthquake in north central China (Gansu) kills 180,000
...
1923 - Earthquake strikes 60 miles offshore from Tokyo,
Japan; 30 foot tsunami and fires follow; 140,000 die.
...
1927 - Earthquake in north central China (Gansu) kills 100,000.
...
1932 - Earthquake in north central China (Gansu) kills 70,000.
...
1935 - Earthquake in northwestern India (now part of
Pakistan); 50,000 die.
...
1939 - Earthquake strikes Chillan, Chile; 50,000 die.
...
1939 - Earthquake strikes wide area of eastern and northern
Turkey; 50,000 die.
...
1949 - Earthquake destroys over a half dozen cities and towns
in Ecuador; 6,000 die.
...
1960 - Earthquake strikes Agadir, Morocco; 12,000 die.
...
1962 - Earthquake strikes western Iran; 10,000 die.
...
1964 - Alaska earthquake; 118 die.
...
1968 - Iranian earthquake; thousands injured, 12,000 die.
...
1970 - May 31, earthquake strikes northern Peru; Chim-
bote, a coastal city, was almost completely destroyed;
on Mount Huascaran, an avalanche of ice and rock
crashed into a lake, spawning a new avalanche of mud
and rock that then poured down over the resort town
of Yungay - the city was so completely buried that
only the tops of palm trees and a statue of Jesus could
be seen - incredibly, all but some 3,000 of the city's
41,000 were killed in the seconds it took the avalanche
to sweep through the city; altogether, between 50,000
and 70,000 die.
...
1972 - Managua, Nicaragua earthquake; estimated death
toll of 10,000 people.
...
1976 - Guatemalan earthquake, February 4; an estimated
23,000 die.
}} 1976 - From page 42 ... "The terrible earthquake that
}} hit northeast China on July 28, 1976 was the most
}} disastrous in modern times. It was focused directly
}} under the industrial city of Tangshan, which was
}} almost completely destroyed by a massive tremor
}} that measured 8.3 on the Richter Scale.
}}
}} The massive jolt struck suddenly and was responsible
}} for the deaths of one tenth of Tangshan's population.
}} It also caused severe damage well beyond the city.
}} In total, more than 240,000 died and 164,000 were
}} severely injured ..."
...
1978 - Earthquake in northeastern Iran; an estimated
25,000 die.
...
1980 - Southern Italy earthquakes; 5,000 die.
...
1985 - Mexico City earthquake on September 19; over
7,000 die.
...
1988 - Armenia earthquake on December 8; an estimated
60,000 die.
1990 - Earthquake ravages area along the Caspian Sea,
on June 21; more than 50,000 die.
...
- - - end excerpts - - -
2001 - Guarat, India earthquake, over 20,000 die.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Gujarat_earthquake
2003 - Bam, Iran earthquake, over 26,000 die.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Bam_earthquake
2004 - Sumatra, Indonesia earthquake and resulting tidal
wave, over 230,000 die.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake
2005 - Kashmir, Pakistan earthquake, over 79.000 die.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Kashmir_earthquake
2006 - Java earthquake, over 6,000 die.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_2006_Java_earthquake
2008 - Sichuan, China earthquake, over 69,000 die.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Sichuan_earthquake
2010 - Port-au-Prince, Haiti earthquake, death toll as of yet
unknown.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Haiti_earthquake
- - -
¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤
~~~
Pro-Humanist FREELOVER
http://prohuman.net
(Freethinking Realist Exploring
Expressive Liberty, Openness,
Verity, Enlightenment, & Rationality)"
~~~