Geological hazards specialist McGuire comments: “What is certain is that at some point in the future the west flank of the Cumbre Vieja on La Palma will collapse, and the resulting tsunamis will ravage the entire Atlantic rim.”
He adds that “Steven Ward of the University of California at Santa Cruz and Simon Day of University College London’s Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre created quite a stir recently when they published a scientific paper that modelled the future collapse of the Cumbre Vieja and the passage of the resulting tsunamis across the Atlantic. . . . Without considerable forward planning it is unlikely that the nine hours it will take for the waves to reach the North American coastline will permit effective, large-scale evacuation, and the death toll is certain to run into millions if not tens of millions. Furthermore, the impact on the US economy will be close to terminal, with the insurance industry wiped out at a stroke and global economic meltdown following swiftly on its heels.”
SPITEFUL SPIRITS
For centuries the ancients believed that volcanic eruptions expressed the dissatisfaction of the gods. Accordingly, they would offer a sacrifice–generally animal or human–in hopes of appeasing those gods and preventing catastrophes.
Throughout most of human history, natural disasters have been attributed to supernatural intervention. Andrew Robinson, in his book Earth Shock: Hurricanes, Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Tornadoes and Other Forces of Nature (2002), comments on this phenomenon:
“In Europe, earthquakes were God’s punishment for sin–according to the Church at least. When a gigantic one laid waste Lisbon in November 1755, the Inquisition responded by roasting the survivors in the fires of the auto-da-f [literally “act of faith,” public execution ceremonies]; while the pessimist Voltaire published first a poem and then, in 1759, his famous story Candide. Both works attacked the Pope–for attributing the earthquake to Man’s lack of faith in God–and also the German philosopher and mathematician Leibniz–who optimistically held that God must have sent the earthquake as part of His plan for the Earth. Why Lisbon? Why not decadent London or Paris? questioned Voltaire in the poem: ‘Lisbon lies in ruins, while in Paris they dance.'”
Even today natural disasters are often referred to as “acts of God.” But is this how such occurrences should be viewed? Are these tragic events from the hand of a spiteful, cruel and angry God who flings natural disasters to earth with the express intention of inflicting suffering on weak and erring humans? Alternatively, are such catastrophes a sign of the end of the world?
NEW WORLD ORDER
In the Bible God describes Himself as a gentle, loving, caring Father who has mercy and compassion on His children (Psalm 103:8, 13). He states that He wants all humanity to prosper and be in health. He expresses Himself as a Being who wants to create a world in which everyone can live in peace and safety, free from the fears of either natural catastrophes or man-made calamities caused by wrong ways of life or misuse of the earth’s natural resources (Isaiah 32:17-18).