Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael The Disciple
In the case of Elijah waiting on YHWH he was not in the wind or the fire. Do a little study for yourself and you will find examples where he was.
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There were visions where the Lord was likened to natural phenomena. He was also seen as "a man" at times, but He is not "a man" (discounting the incarnation) nor is He a gust of wind.
In 1811 through 1812 there was a series of earthquakes in the Louisiana Territory. About half the buildings in the frontier settlement of New Madrid were damaged or destroyed. The earthquake measured 8.0 on the Richter scale, the largest earthquake ever recorded in the lower 48 states. Daniel Boone reported seeing valley after valley of felled forest. No one was reported killed however. Why did God do that? Who was he judging? Today that region has some locales filled with meth and crack addicts committing some of the most horrendous crimes, but no earthquakes.
In 1908 something, possibly a comet, exploded over Tunguska, Siberia. The explosion was greater than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. One man died as an indirect result, reportedly; the accounts differ. Beginning about 20 years later one of the most blood thirsty tyrants ruled over Russia and the Soviet Union, Josef Stalin. Stalin was responsible for the deaths of over 20 million people. He died peacefully in his sleep.
There is a volcano erupting right now in the Indian Ocean. If it were in an inhabited area it would cause untold damage and result in the loss of countless lives. Why is it erupting in the middle of the Indian Ocean? There's nobody there. Yet cities like San Francisco, Amsterdam, and countless others are "allowed to sin" without this kind of judgment being visited upon them.
A few years ago I read about a group of children sitting under a tree which was struck by lightning. Several of the children were killed on the spot. Yet Josef Stalin and Mao died peacefully of old age. Your god is certainly unjust in the dispensation of his justice.
I prefer the God of Elijah. Elijah learned that the God of Israel was not a natural phenomena. The God Elijah discovered was a source of inspiration, not physical destruction.