The Climate of Faith

NPR ran this article about a scattering of islands in the South Pacific that make up the country of Kiribati (listen) that could soon find itself underwater due to the rising sea levels in part caused by climate change.

But there is good news—the former president, current member of parliament, and biblical literalist, Teburoro Tito, says it ain’t gonna happen:

I’m not easily taken by global scientists prophesizing the future … Saying we’re going to be under the water, that I don’t believe, because people belong to God, and God is not so silly to allow people to perish just like that.

Am I missing something here or is this guy completely delusional? He doesn’t think his god would be “silly” enough to allow a mere 90,000 people perish?

I wonder how he explains the 2004 Tsunami that wiped out 230,000 people. Perhaps Tito missed the Haiti earthquake that killed over 300,000—JUST LAST YEAR. And let’s not forgot the silly 1931 China floods that killed millions! I could go on and on and on…

This biblical literalist has also, it seems, never read the Bible. If Tito believes the Bible is the literal word of God, he must also believe all of the mass murder and genocide committed by and ordered by God really happened. Let’s not even talk about the flood, when he intentionally murdered almost every living creature on the planet. Instead let’s name just a couple of the many other examples found in the Bible.

I Samuel 6:19 And he asmote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had blooked into the ark of the Lord, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.

Deuteronomy 7:2 And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly adestroy them; thou shalt bmake no ccovenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:

Better yet, just open the Bible and put your finger on the page. Chances are you will point to an example of God killing somebody—often children.

Silly God.