jgress wrote:I thought April 20 was supposed to be San Francisco?
I said nothing about San Francisco on April 20th. It's quite apparent that you take nothing I say seriously, so I should not be surprised that you did not read what I said very carefully either. I did say that San Francisco was targeted for destruction this year, but I did not specifically say anything about San Francisco on April 20th. A number of cities here in the U.S. and around the world are targeted for destruction at the end of this year, including San Francisco, the phoenix city.
Maybe to be safe just say that SOMEWHERE in the world, SOMETHING bad will happen on April 20, which is quite likely to be true. Then you can claim you correctly divined it.
As for April 20th, only God knows if what has been in the planning stages for years will come to pass on that day, for God is able to frustrate the plans of the wicked. But I do not say that merely somewhere in the world something bad is planned. I specifically said that what is targeted is a specific area in Queens, NY not far from where your bishop happens to reside. Where will he be on 4.20? Hopefully not at the Mets baseball game that weekend.
In seriousness, I think it's a little absurd to claim that it's un-Orthodox not to believe in man-made earthquakes.
Once again, I think it would behoove you to read what I write more carefully. What I said, is that to believe that these disasters or cataclysms or what have you are "naturally" occurring is not orthodox. The word disaster literally means something akin to "bad star," as if the stars were not aligned in one's favor. So the term "natural disaster" in the mind of an atheistic scientist would be explained away by solar flares or global warming or the positions of the planets, i.e. fate, or something along those lines. The atheistic scientist will seek to justify his explanation of the cause of events apart from the Providence of God.
Nothing happens by random chance, including the creation of the world and the creation of man. I did not say that everyone must believe that earthquakes are man-made, to be Orthodox. Earthquakes are sent to us by God for our chastisement and punishment. If you want to call them "natural disasters," so be it, I will not quibble with the term. Just understand that by "natural" we mean they are sent by God, and do not occur randomly, apart from God's providence. However, in this day and age, man has harnessed the technology to effectively control the weather. The many tornadoes that struck this past 12/25, (western Christmas) and Hurricane Sandy Hook, were not "natural" disasters. They were premeditated man-made cataclysms--deliberate acts of terror and destruction. They chose December 25th for a reason, to send a symbolic message that a catastrophic storm was coming our way this coming 12/25, in more ways than one. They deliberately called Hurricane Sandy (Hook), "Sandy" to send us another clue. Nevertheless, God allowed these storms to take place, even if they were fostered by the hands of man, because He can easily frustrate the plans of the evildoers if He so chooses. So ultimately they are from the Lord, for our benefit.
...and given that all the earthquakes we know about are natural, I would say the onus is on you to prove otherwise.
Speak for yourself. I know for a fact that a number of earthquakes and tsunamis in recent times were not "natural," but rather were deliberate acts of war against peoples disguised as "natural disasters." That is one aspect of the new warfare of the 21st century--attack nations and peoples under the cover of it being an accident or unpredictable "natural disaster". Before I can prove something to your satisfaction, you must first tell me what evidence you are prepared to accept?
St. John Chrysostom, Concerning the Power of Demons: Homily I
Hold fast this argument then with me, and let it ever be fixed and immoveable in your minds, that not only when he confers benefits but even when he chastises God is good and loving. For even his chastisements and his punishments are the greatest part of his beneficence, the greatest form of his providence. Whenever therefore thou seest that famines have taken place, and pestilences, and drought and immoderate rains, and irregularities in the atmosphere, or any other of the things which chasten human nature, be not distressed, nor be despondent, but worship Him who caused them, marvel at Him for His tender care. For He who does these things is such that He even chastens the body that the soul may become sound. Then does God these things saith one? God does these things, and even if the whole city, nay even if the whole universe were here I will not shrink from saying this. Would that my voice were clearer than a trumpet, and that it were possible to stand in a lofty place, and to cry aloud to all men, and to testify that God does these things. I do not say these things in arrogance but I have the prophet standing at my side, crying and saying, "There is no evil in the city which the Lord hath not done"--now evil is an ambiguous term; and I wish that you shall learn the exact meaning of each expression, in order that on account of ambiguity you may not confound the nature of the things, and fall into blasphemy.
