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1. Fr Chris wrote: "I'm not sure I could ever believe in a God who causes such disasters as a way of punishing us or bringing us into line. For me, the God of unconditional love could not possibly ordain such things."
   
   Well, has Fr Chris read the Old Testament? Or the New? Christ seems to tell us that the end times won't be a bed of roses?
   
   Perhaps this thought should entertain us - in justice, the passing of a law such as was passed in Victoria is a gross affront to Divine Justice. The Church's teaching on justice tells us that there is punishment due for sin. It would be hard to argue that there is not a terrible punishment due for the passage of that law, whether it is satisfied temporally or in the next life.
   
   Christianity is a religion of love, but not a religion based on a god of universal niceness.

   Posted By: Peter

2. Like most commentators Fr Middleton has ignored the fact that political decisions taken over many years have largely contributed to the horrific fires we have just witnessed. We could now have clean green pollution-free nuclear power stations, plenty of water had we built necessary dams and diverted water from areas of plenty to areas of need, and prevented massive build-up of fuel in our Aussie bush had we not locked up millions of acres in national parks and then insured they became fire boxes by letting fuel build up with little control. We do not need panic about so-called global warming but common sense with our natural resources.

   Posted By: Pat O'Brien

3. This is not a perfect world. These fires are of man's doing. The people running the country who stop the normal routine of clearing and caring for the land are causing the bushfires. Man has free will for good or evil. These men who wield power are the cause of our problems, not God.

   Posted By: Joan Corfield

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