Is there such a thing as an "Act of God"?

[adrock1976]

Following my response to this post by NotATrainspott

https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/highland-mainline-upgrade-ideas.162101/page-6#post-3784401

Has there ever been any scientific evidence that poor weather conditions are an "act of God"?

Also, for those individuals who do not subscribe to any religion or faith system, what would they believe that is the cause of poor weather conditions?

 

[najaB]

Has there ever been any scientific evidence that poor weather conditions are an "act of God"?

Well, strictly speaking, for there to be proof of "Acts of God" the first thing you would need to do is prove that God exists. And that is unlikely to be scientifically proven since the first principle of the scientific process is that your results must be repeatable and falsifiable - which would necessitate a counter experiment that could test the nonexistence of God.

 

[jon0844]

Wouldn't God pretend not to exist if something particularly bad happened on his (or her) watch?

These days, I'd expect the role of God to have been outsourced.

 

[TheEdge]

I think this is just a level of pedantry that is irritatingly common on RUK.

Act of God, as a legal term, has nothing to do, whatsoever with a deity of any religion. Its a legal term that both officially means and is widely understood to refer to events beyond the control of any person. Perhaps Act of Nature would be more suitable term but Act of God is the term used and understood in the Anglosphere.

But that doesn't allow for RUK pedantry.

 

[DarloRich]

I think this is just a level of pedantry that is irritatingly common on RUK.

Act of God, as a legal term, has nothing to do, whatsoever with a deity of any religion. Its a legal term that both officially means and is widely understood to refer to events beyond the control of any person. Perhaps Act of Nature would be more suitable term but Act of God is the term used and understood in the Anglosphere.

But that doesn't allow for RUK pedantry.

agreed on both points!

Also: There is no god so how can we have an act of something that doesn't exist.

 

[whhistle]

I think this is just a level of pedantry that is irritatingly common on RUK.

Act of God, as a legal term, has nothing to do, whatsoever with a deity of any religion. Its a legal term that both officially means and is widely understood to refer to events beyond the control of any person. Perhaps Act of Nature would be more suitable term but Act of God is the term used and understood in the Anglosphere.

But that doesn't allow for RUK pedantry.

Forum, yet again needs a like or "agree" system.

Not sure why nobody has decided to change the legal wording either.
I guess those in charge are busy jeering those on opposite parties.

Also: There is no god so how can we have an act of something that doesn't exist.

In your opinion :P
You could also say there's no such thing as wind. You can't see it, taste it or anything like that.
You see the effects of it, just as some people see the effects of God. Many do not wish to bother themselves with it though, or are blind to those effects.

But I won't be drawn any further down that line of discussion :P

 

[najaB]

Not sure why nobody has decided to change the legal wording either.

Because it's not necessary - both those who believe in God and those who don't understand it to mean an unexpected occurrence, though they may not agree on cause.

 

[si404]

But that doesn't allow for RUK pedantry.

Or philosophical/theological point scoring based on an ignorance of what that term means - which I believe is the entire point of this thread existing...

I know I'm being an RUK pedant here, but "Act of God" is a legal term, not a philosophical/theological one (as TheEdge has explained). Therefore, as the term defines something that does exist, there is such a thing!

 

[DarloRich]

In your opinion :P

agreed.

Also having read the small print of this region stuff as long as I have a death bed conversion the big fella has to let me into his club. So why waste time with stressing about things now? Do what you like then repent at the end.

 

[Ken H]

Dont most contracts talk of Force Majeure these days rather than act of god?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force_majeure

 

[najaB]

Dont most contracts talk of Force Majeure these days rather than act of god?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force_majeure

AIUI, Force Majeure extends to things outwith Acts of God - e.g. it includes war or protests where AoG are limited to natural events e.g. lightning strikes or earthquakes.

 

[Welshman]

agreed.

Also having read the small print of this region stuff as long as I have a death bed conversion the big fella has to let me into his club. So why waste time with stressing about things now? Do what you like then repent at the end.

Always assuming, of course, that you have adequate time and warning to prepare.......

 

[DarloRich]

Always assuming, of course, that you have adequate time and warning to prepare.......

the rules aren't entirely clear. I think there may room for an appeal on arrival at the pearly gates.

 

[ComUtoR]

Also, for those individuals who do not subscribe to any religion or faith system, what would they believe that is the cause of poor weather conditions?

The Government do it. They send up planes to add chemicals to the atmosphere. They use a chemical called Silver Iodide. They shoot it into rain clouds using rockets. You can see the chemtrails all over the sky when they are doing it.

 

[najaB]

They shoot it into rain clouds using rockets.

It's not rockets, silly. They use commercial jets to do it.

 

[ComUtoR]

It's not rockets, silly. They use commercial jets to do it.

Correction, the Chinese use rockets. The CIA use commercial jets.

 

[ComUtoR]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_seeding

The most common chemicals used for cloud seeding include silver iodide, potassium iodide and dry ice (solid carbon dioxide). Liquid propane, which expands into a gas, has also been used. This can produce ice crystals at higher temperatures than silver iodide

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2004/jun/24/thisweekssciencequestions3

Good Day Sunshine was never meant to be a statement of fact, but this weekend, Macca meant it. When his 3,000th concert in St Petersburg's Palace Square was threatened by poor weather, his concert promoters promised that the sun would be shining by the time McCartney took to the stage.

A Moscow company, SAV Entertainments, arranged for three jets to streak over the pregnant skies, dumping vast quantities of dry ice, or frozen carbon dioxide, as they went. By doing so, they hoped to "lock" the rain into the clouds, ensuring a dry spell over the city.

According to McCartney's spokesman, Geoff Baker, who was at the concert, the £20,000 plan worked a treat. "It was pissing down beforehand and then it became so sunny that Brian Ray, the guitarist, had to get one of his roadies to fetch his shades," he says.

The idea of cloud seeding, as the technique is known, is simple and dates back to the 1940s when some believed that to control the weather would be to control the world.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18817945

The Chinese government seeded clouds ahead of the 2008 Olympics opening ceremony to create a downpour elsewhere and keep the stadium dry.

This involved firing rockets packed with silver iodide crystals into rain clouds over the suburbs of Beijing.

The technique is regularly used to boost rainfall in drought-stricken areas of China, although it has proved controversial with allegations of "rain-theft" levelled at provinces which deploy precipitation shock troops too zealously.

A whole lotta truth and just a little fun...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemtrail_conspiracy_theory

The chemtrail conspiracy theory is based on the erroneous belief that long-lasting condensation trails are "chemtrails" consisting of chemical or biological agents left in the sky by high-flying aircraft, sprayed for nefarious purposes undisclosed to the general public.[1] Believers in this conspiracy theory say that while normal contrails dissipate relatively quickly, contrails that linger must contain additional substances.[2][3] Those who subscribe to the theory speculate that the purpose of the chemical release may be solar radiation management,[2] weather modification, psychological manipulation, human population control, or biological or chemical warfare and that the trails are causing respiratory illnesses and other health problems.[1][4]

The Bible : Genesis 9:9

8 Again, God said to Noah and his sons:

9 I am going to make a solemn promise to you and to everyone who will live after you. 10 This includes the birds and the animals that came out of the boat. 11 I promise every living creature that the earth and those living on it will never again be destroyed by a flood.

12-13 The rainbow that I have put in the sky will be my sign to you and to every living creature on earth. It will remind you that I will keep this promise forever. 14 When I send clouds over the earth, and a rainbow appears in the sky, 15 I will remember my promise to you and to all other living creatures. Never again will I let floodwaters destroy all life. 16 When I see the rainbow in the sky, I will always remember the promise that I have made to every living creature. 17 The rainbow will be the sign of that solemn promise

It can't be God. He promised not to do it.

 

[DarloRich]

Correction, the Chinese use rockets. The CIA use commercial jets.

don't be silly. The CIA are merely dupes for the evil zionist mossad/Rotschild/chosen atisemitic canard types secretly controlling the world.

 

[whhistle]

Also having read the small print of this region stuff as long as I have a death bed conversion the big fella has to let me into his club.

That's not how it works :P
Although I always find it interesting to challenge people by swapping it round - believe and if in the end there's nothing, you'll have lost nothing.

 

[al78]

Forum, yet again needs a like or "agree" system.

You could also say there's no such thing as wind.

No you can't. Wind is the movement of air, it can be felt and measured, and its effects can certainly be seen.

 

[Calthrop]

That's not how it works :P
Although I always find it interesting to challenge people by swapping it round - believe and if in the end there's nothing, you'll have lost nothing.

Is your real name Blaise Pascal, by any chance?