Ok, for the sake of this discussion i'm going to make a few assumptions.
Firstly i'll assume that 2012 really is the last year on earth as we know it (as painful as it is for me to make such an assumption without a snide comment).
Secondly I will assume that everything is part of God's plan.
Muslims, and i think some christians, do not think thats 2012 is the end of times. The end of times is not happening before the appearance of the false messiah and arrival of Jesus ( pbuh) i doubt all of that will happen within one year.
Now, based on recent events in Japan and New Zealand, which as assumed in point two are part of God's divine plan, how can a Christian/ Muslim/ <insert other theistic religion> (please spare me technicalities and stereotype policing) justify the destruction of these so called end times?
As a muslim, one does not need to justify destruction, since
1) it has been foretold, and indicated that there will be so much cruelty on the earth due to man's evil, it will shake up with the brutality man spreads on its expanse. Disasters will become frequent near the end of times , they serve to force people to think beyond their material lifestyles , and help them reach out to help each other.
2) The divine destruction of the man created system in this world exposes the vulnerability of humans to themselves so that they may not confine themselves to foolishly unrealistic approximation of development and excess of luxury at the cost of those people who don't even get clean water to drink everyday.
briefly, man is forced to rethink his priorities, and nations are forced to survive within meagre means so that they can feel how poorly their own brethren have survived without no shelter/food and they have never spared a thought for them, since they were busy building the comfort of their lives at the costs where several whole families could survive for years.
More specifically:
- If it really is the end times, why does God delay our demise and instead instill fear and mass suffering?
Delaying our demise is an act of kindness, God wants people to realize, he wants people to see the truth, if he didn't ,he'd finish them up soon and throw hoardes and hoardes of them in hell( and that is what jealousy is and God is not jealous, just helpful loving and kind) God gives repeated chances, countless to the extent of limiting man's material gains so that man takes sometime out to think for the larger humanity at hand and also realize who is the creator.
- Why is it necessary to torture those who are faithful to God along with those who are not? I have always been under the rather broad assumption that if cataclysmic destruction were to occur, your God would save your bacon and let us heathens drown. However, recent events have shown that powerful natural disasters do not make such distinctions.
Natural disasters do make some extremely fine distinctions sometimes you might get to notice later on. In 2005 there was a huge earthquake in my country and there is this place where the whole bazaar( market , shops) went right into the ground, except this one plaza. it stood tall and didn't even show any cracks. All people wondered why that happened.
They later found out that the person who owned that plaza was a very God fearing person, lived a very simple life, paying charity, regular in his prayers and very generous to the poor. He was one of the foremost people in helping out other people and as it seems, God saved him , inspite of the fact that all the others near him either died under the rubble, or received serious injuries.
So yes muslim countries receive their good dose of natural disasters as well, but it is usually specifically destructive in the areas where people do not follow the religion, as has been the general observation. Just so you know, having a religion tag does not save you if you aren't practising. But, the rule of helping people out in the disaster is universal, one must extend their help to those in need, this is the test of humanity.
In general, my concern is how one can justify mass suffering. What means to an end is achieved by causing carnage if is your God responsible for this? What does anyone or anything stand to gain through suffering and furthermore i'm curious as to why?
How many people turn towards God when there's sunshine and everything fine and dandy? why would even people want to turn towards a god when their lives are perfectly fine and enjoyable? Suffering is one of the only things that creates a feeling of wanting someone who could prefect your life.
Since God has promised the perfect life to his abiding men, and sees How deluded they are by the temptations of this world, he causes a bit of jolt to divert people's focus from satan's deception towards the reality, so that there is more merit in heaven than in hell.
God wants more people in heaven and a little bit of suffering is the only way to that realization sometimes. satan says beautify this life, strive to attain the material wealth of this world, God says the only way to attain lasting material wealth is, to be good and kind to my creation, and not exceed in thy material desire.
