Blaming God for Earthquake? Even Buddhists Do It

Here's a story I missed about the Japanese Earthquake. This happened back in March, right after the quake hit.

Although I don't share Shinto and Buddhist beliefs about karma and rebirth, I've always had a lot of respect for Eastern religions. They don't have a nasty penchant for proselytizing, and their ideas about sex and sexuality are quite reasonable. Best of all, they value learning.

But apparently they share at least one bit of craziness with evangelical nuts like Pat Roberson: a belief that human failings anger the deities that run this place, and that said deities get pissed and send earthquakes and hurricanes as punishment.

Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara was the latest celebrity to make the awful assertion that the Japanese 9.0 earthquake is our fault. He said,

"We need a tsunami to wipe out egoism, which has rusted onto the mentality of Japanese over a long period of time. I think the disaster is a kind of divine punishment, although I feel sorry for disaster victims."

According to the story on ABC News, Governor Shintaro later apologized.

I hope Governor Shintaro realizes the company he is now keeping. He is in league with

Beware of Oprah!

Wow, it seems Oprah is dangerous to true Christians! She's one of those sneaky types who uses Christian terminology and ideas, and makes seductive claims that lure innocent Christians into paganism! Pantheism!

Worse, Oprah teaches a "hodgepodge of personalized faith," emphasizing the spirit within us all, urging us to listen to our conscience. And (*gasp*) there are many paths to God, not just the Christian path!

Can you imagine? What's Oprah thinking? We all know that thinking for ourselves leads to sin. And the Christians' God is the only god who has this Absolute Truth.

This would be funny if it were from the 1950s, but sadly, it was from a lecture given to 1,500 people at McLean Bible Church near Washington, D.C. last week. Christian apologists Josh McDowell and Dave Sterrett gave a lecture blasting Oprah's teachings, and "correcting" any incorrect theology she might have taught her listeners.

To an outsider, one of the most fascinating things about various religions is how you have to do things exactly their way, or you're out, going to Hell, damned forever. The sheer arrogance is stunning, and would be funny, except that these people aren't kidding, and they're not a minority.

I admire Oprah's philosophy even though I'm not a religious person. Many of my close friends and family share her views on spirituality and religion, and strange though it might sound, I think Oprah's view is very close to what atheists, agnostics and deists think, too. We all need to look inside to find the truth, to find our moral/ethical core, and to do what we know is right. Some look to a core essence that's larger than their physical existence, and some don't, but we all know that morality comes from within.

The arrogance, the sheer hubris, of these ultra-religious people, is offensive on the face of it. They are hugely and glaringly wrong, yet not only can they not see it, but they don't even know how foolish their claims look to most people. The idea that their particular brand of religion, among all the many thousands that people have invented around the world and down through the ages, is the only correct one, is so silly. How can they take themselves seriously?

Brit Hume Should Convert to Buddhism!

So, the conservative newsman Brit Hume thinks Tiger Woods should turn to Jesus for forgiveness and salvation?

I tell you what, Brit. How about if I have an affair with YOUR wife, and then I'll pray to Jesus to forgive me. And He will, won't He? You'll still be furious, maybe ready to wring my neck, but I'll be OK because Jesus will forgive me for having sex with your wife. Right?

Because that's what Jesus is there for, to forgive you Christians even when you don't deserve it. Jesus will make everything OK, even when someone like Tiger Woods is a complete jerk and destroys the lives of his wife and children.

Never mind how the wife and children feel, and whether they want to participate in this forgiveness fest. Jesus doesn't seem to care about them – all Tiger has to do is ask Jesus, and *poof*, it's all better.

And then when Tiger is absolved of his sin, maybe he'll decide he really likes Christian morals. He could follow Jerry Falwell's lead and hire a cheap hooker to take care of his needs. Or maybe be like Rush Limbaugh and get addicted to painkillers.

Or maybe, just maybe, Tiger should stick to his Buddhism, which teaches about karma and balance, and how life must be balanced. It teaches that your life will be how you make it, that if you make sadness, you have to live with it or make it right again, and if you are a good person, good will be attracted to you. In fact, maybe that's why Tiger is keeping a low profile right now, because instead of instant forgiveness from Jesus, Tiger realizes that his life is out of balance and he needs to put it back in order.