Does God Punish Nations

Check out my latest at the Partial Observer. Excerpt:

If we define "God" impersonally as the entity from which the universe comes forth, who makes itself known through recognizable patterns which human reason calls natural laws, then it is arguable that, yes, God does punish nations.

Let's put it this way: if you jump off a cliff, then God "punishes" you by causing you to plunge to your death. For God is the author of the laws of the universe, including the law of gravity. Decades of filling the body with toxins means that God will "punish" you with disease. Similar causes have similar effects, because that is how the universe works.

In the same way, God punishes nations. God inflicts mass misery. God destroys governments. That is, God brings about the consequences to the choices politicians and the people make.