Does the Haiti earthquake prove that there is no god?

[Thorne]

It is your choice not to believe Thorn, that is what the free world is all about, freedom of choice, but don’t mock others that do believe. Neither should you mock the theory of the past being changed once it has been set, and yes I mean set.

I was not mocking anyone, I don't think. At least not deliberately. But I do laugh at the predestination idea. I don't know what you mean by "the theory of the past being changed once it has been set", but I thought we were talking about the future. No, the past is done, fixed, immutable. The future is what we make it. Your post implied that the future, too was fixed, and that the gods cannot interfere because of that. That would mean, then, that our present is their past, and our path is fixed. I cannot see any evidence for that, however. While travel into the past is limited to history and archeology and such, we are all traveling into the future with every breath we take. And it's changed by every decision we make.

If your wife was run over by a car while you were at work, [and I pray to God this never takes place]. Once you found out, you would be driving across town like a madman trying to get to the hospital, and in your mind you would be saying [God please let her be ok]. Thank you for stating the obvious.

While not quite so drastic, perhaps, I was in a similar situation when my second son was born. We got to the hospital easily, they put her in a birthing room, or whatever the hell it was called then, and things seemed all right. Suddenly they were wheeling her down the corridor, nurses calling for a surgery, the doctor tearing off his jacket, asking where his people were, a nurse dragging me into a changing room to scrub and put on a surgical gown. I'll tell you, it was a terrifying few minutes, for sure. But I didn't call on some fictional deity for help. I called my mother. On the phone. Does that make her God?

People dream up all kinds of creations in their minds. Libraries are full of these creations. It's called fiction. Thinking about them doesn't make them real. Writing about them doesn't make them real. The gods of modern man are no more real than the gods of Valhalla, or Mount Olympus, or the great god Gurk who brought the mammoths each year.

[Thorne]

13'sbadkitty,
I'm very sorry to hear of your loss. And I'm glad that your faith has helped you to deal with that loss.

My own parents are still here, though my mother is not well. Thankfully she's not in any pain, but she has become more religious as she's grown older. It brings her comfort and I try to support her in it where I can. Like you, I won't try to force my beliefs, or lack of them, on anyone. I only ask that they provide me the same courtesy.

Again, my condolences.