My letter published in our local newspaper.

Earthquakes from some god or justs nature at work

- 04/23/2012

Non-theist students at the University of Minnesota Duluth held a “tabling” event to sell cupcakes for their secular humanist projects to benefit people in need. A student reported, “An older gentleman came up and bought one of our cupcakes. He told me he didn’t have a burning desire for one; he was just so sick and tired of people feeling blessed every time a hurricane or tornado missed their house.” That nicely illustrates for me the silly nature of religious thought. Some survivors of calamities claim they are “blessed.” Fine, but then it follows that others crushed or burned are surely “god-cursed.” We needn’t be sympathetic then with women whose children slowly bleed to death under earthquake rubble. Those children were obviously satanic and god needed to destroy them. Too bad. God apparently curses also churches, day care facilities, schools, hospitals and religious people when they are destroyed by various god-sent tornadoes, hurricanes or earthquakes. Really?  Must be!  Or are gods just imaginary, invisible friends in the sky? Those who are religious always warp reason to suit their needs. Then the media shows its pandering ignorance by eagerly supporting their irrational thinking. Media need to seek evidence for so-called miracles, blessings and curses, or at least fairly report on god’s atrocities as well.  As it is, the media present one-sided reporting;  this endorses the public’s faulty moral reasoning. Instead the media could help citizens abandon primitive thinking.  Weather conditions and plate tectonics will do their thing: Don’t pray, get to shelter! Wise up, folks. It’s physics, not theology.

   Dr. William Van Druten Duluth The writer is a member of the Lake Superior Freethinkers.

There was a un-heavenly host of response letters objecting to my piece:  "Anti-religious screed.", "Disaster formed when, humans disobeyed God", etc.   So I sent a follow up letter to the editor:

God' punishment, courtesy of Neptune and Thor

Several people have corrected my thinking of plate tectonics and weather causing earthquakes and hurricanes, etc.  I see now that I was wrong in my earlier letter.   Our sinful nature is to blame for all our woes.  Fire, famine, disease and lightning strikes are some god's punishment for our misbehaviors. 

I am not convinced, though, by the current three-in-one God.   I think our troubles resulted from our abandonment and derision of Neptune and Thor.   They were true and mighty gods, much to be feared, but like all the true gods of the past they are ignored now. 

Makes me wonder what true gods will be invented in future for us to cower before.  For my current god needs I will worship John Frum (see Wikipedia), for whom there is far better evidence.