View source for Divine retribution

{{Short description|Supernatural punishment by a deity}}
{{For|the TV series|Divine Retribution (TV series)}}
{{Redirect|Divine punishment|the 1986 album by Diananda Galás|The Divine Punishment}}
[[File:John Martin - The Great Day of His Wrath - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|''The End of the World'', commonly known as ''[[The Great Day of His Wrath]]'',<ref>Michael Wheeler, ''Heaven, Hell, and the Victorians'', [[Cambridge University Press]], 1994, p.83</ref> an 1851–1853 [[oil painting]] on [[canvas]] by the English painter [[John Martin (painter)|John Martin]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/m/martin/index.html|title=Web Gallery of Art, searchable fine arts image database|website=www.wga.hu}}</ref> According to Frances Carey, the painting shows the "destruction of [[Babylon]] and the material world by natural cataclysm". This painting, Carey holds, is a response to the emerging industrial scene of London as a metropolis in the early nineteenth century, and the original growth of the Babylon civilisation and its final destruction. According to the [[Tate Britain|Tate]], the painting depicts a portion of [[Revelation 16]], a chapter from the [[New Testament]].]]
{{Attributes of God}}
{{Theodicy}}

'''Divine retribution''' is [[supernatural]] [[punishment]] of a person, a group of people, or everyone by a [[deity]] in response to some action. Several [[culture]]s have a story about how a deity imposed punishment on previous inhabitants of their land, causing their doom.

An example of divine retribution is the story found in many religions about a great [[Deluge (mythology)|flood]] destroying all of humanity, as described in the [[Epic of Gilgamesh]], the [[Hindu]] [[Vedas]], or the [[Book of Genesis]] (6:9–8:22), leaving one principal 'chosen' survivor. In the first example, the survivor is [[Utnapishtim]], in the Hindu Vedas, it is [[Vaivasvata Manu|Manu]], and in the last example, it is [[Noah]]. References in the [[Old Testament]] and the [[Quran]] to a man named Nuh (Noah) who was commanded by [[God]] to build an [[Noah's Ark|ark]] also suggest that one man and his followers were saved in a [[Genesis flood narrative|great flood]].

Other examples in Bible history include the dispersion of the builders of the [[Tower of Babel]] (Genesis 11:1–9), the destruction of [[Sodom and Gomorrah]] (Genesis 18:20–21, 19:23–28) ([[Quran 7:80–84]]),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://quran.com/7/80-84|title=Surah Al-A'raf [7:80–84]|website=Surah Al-A'raf [7:80–84]}}</ref> and the [[Ten Plagues]] visited upon the [[ancient Egypt]]ians for persecuting the [[children of Israel]] (Exodus, Chapters 7–12).

In [[Greek mythology]], the goddess [[Hera]] often became enraged when her husband, [[Zeus]], would impregnate mortal women, and would exact divine retribution on the children born of such affairs. In some versions of the myth, [[Medusa]] was turned into her monstrous form as divine retribution for her vanity; in others it was a punishment for being raped by [[Poseidon]].

The [[Bible]] refers to divine retribution as, in most cases, being delayed or "treasured up" to a future time.<ref>Luke 3:7; Romans 2:5</ref> Sight of God's supernatural works and retribution would militate against faith in God's Word.<ref>For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope...(Romans 8:24)</ref> [[William Lane Craig]] says, in Paul's view, God's properties, his eternal power and deity, are clearly revealed in creation, so that people who fail to believe in an eternal, powerful [[creator deity|creator]] of the world are without excuse. Indeed, Paul says that they actually do know that God exists, but they suppress this truth because of their unrighteousness.<ref>{{cite web|last=Craig|first=William Lane|title=Is Unbelief Culpable?|url=http://www.reasonablefaith.org/is-unbelief-culpable|publisher=Reasonable Faith|access-date=19 May 2014}}</ref>

Some religions or philosophical positions have no concept of divine retribution, nor posit a God being capable of or willing to express such human sentiments as jealousy, vengeance, or wrath. For example, in [[Deism]] and [[Pandeism]], the creator does not intervene in our Universe at all, either for good or for ill, and therefore exhibits no such behavior. In [[Pantheism]] (as reflected in Pandeism as well), God ''is'' the Universe and encompasses everything within it, and so has no need for retribution, as all things against which retribution might be taken are simply within God. This view is reflected in some pantheistic or pandeistic forms of [[Hinduism]], as well.

==Buddhism==
The concept of divine retribution is resolutely denied in [[Buddhism]]. [[Gautama Buddha]] did not endorse belief in a [[creator deity]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Thera|first=Nyanaponika|title=Buddhism and the God-idea|url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/nyanaponika/godidea.html|work=The Vision of the Dhamma|publisher=Buddhist Publication Society|location=Kandy, Sri Lanka|quote=In Buddhist literature, the belief in a creator god (issara-nimmana-vada) is frequently mentioned and rejected, along with other causes wrongly adduced to explain the origin of the world; as, for instance, world-soul, time, nature, etc. God-belief, however, is placed in the same category as those morally destructive wrong views which deny the kammic results of action, assume a fortuitous origin of man and nature, or teach absolute determinism. These views are said to be altogether pernicious, having definite bad results due to their effect on ethical conduct.}}</ref><ref>''Approaching the Dhamma: Buddhist Texts and Practices in South and Southeast Asia'' by Anne M. Blackburn (editor), Jeffrey Samuels (editor). Pariyatti Publishing: 2003 {{ISBN|1-928706-19-3}} p. 129</ref> refused to express any views on creation<ref>{{cite book|title=The All Embracing Net of Views: Brahmajala Sutta|year=2007|publisher=Buddhist Publication Society|url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.01.0.bodh.html|author=Bhikku Bodhi|editor=Access To Insight|location=Kandy, Sri Lanka|chapter=III.1, III.2, III.5}}</ref> and stated that questions on the origin of the world are worthless.<ref>{{cite web|title=Acintita Sutta: Unconjecturable|url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.077.than.html|work=AN 4.77|publisher=Access To Insight|author=Thanissaro Bhikku|language=en|year=1997|quote=Conjecture about [the origin, etc., of] the world is an unconjecturable that is not to be conjectured about, that would bring madness & vexation to anyone who conjectured about it.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Cula-Malunkyovada Sutta: The Shorter Instructions to Malunkya|url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.063.than.html|publisher=Access To Insight|author=Thanissaro Bhikku|language=en|year=1998|quote=It's just as if a man were wounded with an arrow thickly smeared with poison. His friends & companions, kinsmen & relatives would provide him with a surgeon, and the man would say, 'I won't have this arrow removed until I know whether the man who wounded me was a noble warrior, a priest, a merchant, or a worker.' He would say, 'I won't have this arrow removed until I know the given name & clan name of the man who wounded me... until I know whether he was tall, medium, or short... The man would die and those things would still remain unknown to him. In the same way, if anyone were to say, 'I won't live the holy life under the Blessed One as long as he does not declare to me that 'The cosmos is eternal,'... or that 'After death a Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist,' the man would die and those things would still remain undeclared by the Tathagata.}}</ref> The non-adherence<ref>{{cite book|last=Bhikku|first=Thanissaro|title=Tittha Sutta: Sectarians|year=1997|url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an03/an03.061.than.html|author-link=Anguttara Nikaya, 3.61|language=en|quote=Then in that case, a person is a killer of living beings because of a supreme being's act of creation... When one falls back on lack of cause and lack of condition as being essential, monks, there is no desire, no effort [at the thought], 'This should be done. This shouldn't be done.' When one can't pin down as a truth or reality what should & shouldn't be done, one dwells bewildered & unprotected. One cannot righteously refer to oneself as a contemplative.}}</ref> to the notion of an [[omnipotence|omnipotent]] creator deity or a [[Primum movens|prime mover]] is seen by many as a key distinction between Buddhism and other religions, though precise beliefs vary widely from sect to sect and "Buddhism" should not be taken as a single, holistic religious concept.

Buddhists do accept the existence of beings in higher realms (see [[Buddhist cosmology]]), known as [[Deva (Buddhism)|''devas'']], but they, like humans, are said to be suffering in [[Samsara (Buddhism)|samsara]],<ref>{{cite web|title=The Thirty-one planes of Existence|url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sagga/loka.html|publisher=Access To Insight|access-date=May 26, 2010|author=John T Bullitt|year=2005|quote=The suttas describe thirty-one distinct "planes" or "realms" of existence into which beings can be reborn during this long wandering through samsara. These range from the extraordinarily dark, grim, and painful hell realms to the most sublime, refined, and exquisitely blissful heaven realms. Existence in every realm is impermanent; in Buddhist cosmology there is no eternal heaven or hell. Beings are born into a particular realm according to both their past kamma and their kamma at the moment of death. When the kammic force that propelled them to that realm is finally exhausted, they pass away, taking rebirth once again elsewhere, according to their kamma. And so the wearisome cycle continues.}}</ref> and are not necessarily wiser than us. The Buddha is often portrayed as a teacher of the gods,<ref>{{cite book|title=Teacher of the Devas|year=1997|publisher=Buddhist Publication Society|url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/jootla/wheel414.html|author=Susan Elbaum Jootla|editor=Access To Insight|location=Kandy, Sri Lanka|chapter=II. The Buddha Teaches Deities|quote="Many people worship Maha Brahma as the supreme and eternal creator God, but for the Buddha he is merely a powerful deity still caught within the cycle of repeated existence. In point of fact, "Maha Brahma" is a role or office filled by different individuals at different periods." "His proof included the fact that "many thousands of deities have gone for refuge for life to the recluse Gotama" (MN 95.9). Devas, like humans, develop faith in the Buddha by practicing his teachings." "A second deva concerned with liberation spoke a verse which is partly praise of the Buddha and partly a request for teaching. Using various similes from the animal world, this god showed his admiration and reverence for the Exalted One.", "A discourse called Sakka's Questions (DN 21) took place after he had been a serious disciple of the Buddha for some time. The sutta records a long audience he had with the Blessed One which culminated in his attainment of stream-entry. Their conversation is an excellent example of the Buddha as "teacher of devas," and shows all beings how to work for Nibbana."}}</ref> and superior to them.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bhikku|first=Thanissaro|title=Kevaddha Sutta|year=1997|publisher=Access To Insight|url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.11.0.than.html#bigbrahma|author-link=Digha Nikaya, 11|quote=When this was said, the Great Brahma said to the monk, 'I, monk, am Brahma, the Great Brahma, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, All-Powerful, the Sovereign Lord, the Maker, Creator, Chief, Appointer and Ruler, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be... That is why I did not say in their presence that I, too, don't know where the four great elements... cease without remainder. So you have acted wrongly, acted incorrectly, in bypassing the Blessed One in search of an answer to this question elsewhere. Go right back to the Blessed One and, on arrival, ask him this question. However he answers it, you should take it to heart.}}</ref> Despite this, there are believed to be enlightened devas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.himalayanart.org/pages/Visual_Dharma/yidams.html|title=Yidams|website=www.himalayanart.org}}</ref> But since there may also be unenlightened devas, there also may be godlike beings who engage in retributive acts, but if they do so, then they do so out of their own ignorance of a greater truth.

Despite this [[nontheism]], Buddhism nevertheless fully accepts the theory of [[Karma in Buddhism|karma]], which posits punishment-like effects, such as rebirths in [[Naraka (Buddhism)|realms of torment]], as an invariable consequence of wrongful actions. Unlike in most Abrahamic monotheistic religions, these effects are not eternal, though they can last for a very long time. Even theistic religions do not necessarily see such effects as "punishment" imposed by a higher authority, rather than natural consequences of wrongful action.

==Abrahamic Religions==
{{Prose|section|date=July 2019}}
"The wrath of God", an anthropomorphic expression for the attitude which some believe God has towards sin,<ref name=ODCC>Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 {{ISBN|978-0-19-280290-3}}), article ''wrath of God, the''</ref> is mentioned many times in the [[Bible]].

===Hebrew Bible===
[[File:John Martin - Sodom and Gomorrah.jpg|thumb|''[[The Destruction of Sodom And Gomorrah]]'' by [[John Martin (painter)|John Martin]], 1852]]
Divine retribution is often portrayed in the [[Hebrew Bible|Tanak]] or [[Old Testament]].
* Genesis 3:14–24 – [[Fall of man|Curse upon Adam and Eve]] and expulsion from the [[Garden of Eden]]; Disobedience
* Genesis 4:9–15 – [[Curse and mark of Cain|Curse upon Cain]] after his slaying of his brother, Abel
* Genesis 6–7 – The [[Genesis flood narrative|Great Flood]]; Rampant evil and [[Nephilim]]
* Genesis 11:1–9 – The confusion of languages at the [[Tower of Babel]]; To scatter them over the Earth
* Genesis 19:23–29 – Destruction of [[Sodom and Gomorrah]]; people of no redeeming value
* Genesis 38:6–10 – Destruction of [[Er (biblical person)|Er]] and [[Onan]]; wickedness in the Lord's sight
* Exodus 7–14 – [[Plagues of Egypt]]; to establish his power over that of the gods of Egypt
* Exodus 19:10–25 – Divine threatenings at [[Mount Sinai (Bible)|Mount Sinai]]; warn that the mountain is off limits and holy
* Exodus 32 – [[Plague (disease)|Plague]]s at the incident of the [[golden calf]]; disowning the people for breaking his covenant with them
* Leviticus 10:1–2 – [[Nadab and Abihu]] are burned; offering unauthorised fire in their censers
* Leviticus 26:14–39 – Curses upon the disobedient; divine warning
* Numbers 11 – A plague accompanies the giving of manna in the wilderness; rejecting his gracious gift of heavenly food and failing his test of obedience
* Numbers 16 – The rebellion of [[Korah]], [[Dathan]], and [[Abiram]] – Their supernatural deaths and the plague that followed; insolence and attempting self-promotion to roles they were unworthy of holding
* Numbers 20:9–13 – Reprimand of [[Moses]] at the water of [[Meribah]]; disobeying the Lord's instruction, showing distrust and indifference in God's presence
* Numbers 21 – Murmuring of the people and the plague of [[fiery flying serpent]]; spurning God's grace
* Numbers 25 – Whoredom with the [[Moab]]ites and resulting plague; breaching God's covenant through sexual immorality and worshipping other gods
* Deuteronomy 28 – Curses pronounced upon the disobedient; another divine warning
* 1 Samuel 6:19 – some/many men of [[Beth Shemesh]] killed; Looking into the [[Ark of the Covenant]]
* 2 Samuel 6:1–7 – [[Uzzah]] struck dead; Touching the Ark of the Covenant
* 1 Kings 11 – God promises to tear [[King Solomon]]'s kingdom from his son except for a single tribe; Building altars to other gods for his wives
* {{bibleverse||Job|14:13}} – sending trials to the just man [[Job (biblical figure)|Job]]

=== New Testament and Christian thought===
{{see also|Attributes of God in Christianity#Wrath}}
The New Testament associates the wrath of God particularly with imagery of [[Judgment Day|the Last Day]], described allegorically in {{bibleverse||Romans|2:5}} as the "day of wrath". The wrath of God is mentioned in at least twenty verses of the [[New Testament]]. Examples are:
* {{bibleverse||John|3:36}} – [[John the Baptist]] declares that whoever believes in the Son has [[Eternal life (Christianity)|eternal life]]; whoever does not obey the Son, or in some [[English translations of the Bible|English translations]], does not believe the Son,<ref>{{bibleverse||John|3:36|NKJV}}: NKJV</ref> shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.<ref>{{bibleverse||John|3:36|ESV}}: [[English Standard Version]]</ref>
* {{Bibleverse|Acts|5:1}} – [[Ananias and Sapphira|Ananias and his wife Sapphira]] are struck dead for holding back some of the proceeds after selling a piece of property
* {{bibleverse||Romans|1:18}} – For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
* {{bibleverse||Romans|5:9}} –  Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
* {{bibleverse||Romans|12:19}} – Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."
* {{bibleverse||Ephesians|5:6}} – Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
* {{bibleverse||Revelation|6:17}} – For the great day of his wrath has come, and who is able to withstand?
* {{bibleverse||Revelation|14:19}} – So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
* {{bibleverse||Revelation|15:1}} – Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God was finished.
* {{bibleverse||Revelation|19:15}} – From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

[[Eusebius]] suggests that the final illness and death of [[Herod the Great]] was an example of divine punishment for the [[massacre of the Innocents|slaughter of the innocents]] after the [[birth of Jesus]]. [[Matthew's gospel]] mentions Herod's death in passing.<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|2:19}}</ref> [[Josephus]] gives a more vivid portrayal of his condition and demise.<ref>Flavius Josephus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=J.+AJ+17.6.5 Antiquities of the Jews], 17.6.5, edited by [[William Whiston]], accessed on 25 June 2024</ref>

[[Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer|Heinrich Meyer]] observes in his consideration of John 3:36 that the wrath of God "remains" on anyone who rejects belief in the Son, meaning that the rejection of faith is not the trigger for God's wrath, it is there already. Their refusal to believe amounts to a refusal to allow the wrath of God to be lifted from them.<ref>Meyer, H. A. W. (1880), [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/meyer/john/3.htm Meyer's NT Commentary] on John 3, translated from the German sixth edition, accessed 8 January 2024</ref>

=== Quran===
{{copy edit section|date=March 2025}}
* {{qref|11|40|t=y}}: [[Noah in Islam|People of Nuh]] who were drowned in the flood.
* {{qref|54|18-20}} and {{qref|69|6-8}}: [[ʿĀd|Ād]] (people of Hud) who God sent a stormy cold wind against them for seven nights and eight Days successively, which killed them all.
* {{qref|54|31}}: [[Thamud]] (people of [[Salih]]) who killed the miraculous Camel, so God sent against them only a blast and all died.
* {{qref|11|81-83}} and {{qref|54|37-38}}: Sodom and Gomorrah, who because of [[homosexuality]], God turned the town upside down and rained on them stones. Previously when they asked [[Lot in Islam|Lut]] to leave his guests to them in order to commit the shameful act, God blinded their eyes.
* {{qref|22|42-44}}: People of [[Abraham in Islam|Ibrahim]] that had divine retribution after denying Ibrahim.
* {{qref|11|94}} and {{qref|16|189}}: Dwellers of the Cities of Median and Aikah, whom denied prophet [[Shuaib]] and in selling didn't give full measure and weight with justice, so an earthquake and blast hit them and killed them all.
* {{qref|7|130-133}}: Pharaoh's people were punished by Years of drought and shortage of crops, and also God sent upon them all sorts of Calamities: The flood, the locusts, The lice, the frogs and the blood, a Succession of Clear Signs representing Allah's Wrath.
* {{qref|7|136}} Pharaoh and his people, which God Drowned them in the sea, because they Belied his Signs and Miracles and Were heedless about them.
* {{qref|28|76-81}}: [[Korah]] was punished due to his extreme arrogance by being swallowed by earth along with all his great material wealth.
* {{qref|7|155}} and {{qref|2|55-56}}: 70 chosen Israelites who asked for visiting God, and were seized with a thunderbolt, and then were raised to life after death.
* {{qref|7|163-165}} and {{qref|2|65-66}}: Companions of the [[Sabbath]] who became apes, because of breaking the rule of Sabbath and fishing in that day.
* {{qref|7|166-167}} and {{qref|2|83-90}}: [[Israelites]], when they revoltingly persisted in what they had been forbidden, Lord announced that He would send against them those who would impose the worst torment on them until Resurrection Day.
* {{qref|2|59}} and {{qref|7|162}}: the wrongdoers of the [[Israelites]] changed The word which was stated to them, for an irrelevant word, so God sent Down upon them a plague from the heaven due to their evildoing.
* {{qref|5|12}}: The [[Israelites]] breaking their covenant, whom God cursed them and made their hearts Hard, so they change the words of Torah from their right places and have forgotten a part of the Message That was sent to them.
* {{qref|10|98}} and {{qref|37|139-148}}: People of [[Jonah in Islam|Yunus]]([[Jonah]]), whom When they saw the symptoms of Torment, believed God and obeyed him, so he removed from them the Torment in the life of this world. Because Yunus wasn't patient enough and left his people before God tells him to do so, a fish swallowed him; and after he admitted his wrongdoing and glorified God, God accepted his repentance and released him from the fish's belly.
* {{qref|34|15-21}}: [[Sabaeans|People of Sabaʾ(Sheba)]] whom because of their ingratitude, God afflicted them with a violent flood arising from a broken dam, and destroyed their productive gardens and dispersed the people.
* {{qref|50|14}} and {{qref|44|37}}: People of [[List of rulers of Saba and Himyar|Tubba]] whom were punished by God after denying their prophet.
* {{qref|50|12-14}} and {{qref|25|38}}: [[Companions of the Rass]] that rejected their messenger, so they became subject of Devine torment.
* {{qref|68|17–27}}: Owners of the burnt garden, whom because of not giving to the poor, an Affliction fell upon their garden from your God, And the garden was turned into a black Barren land.
* {{qref|18|32–44}}: The owner of a beautiful garden, whom because of his arrogance and denial of the day of resurrection, an Affliction fell upon their garden from your God, And the garden was ruined on its trellises and its fruits were all destroyed.
* {{qref|36|13–29}}: [[People of Ya-Sin]]: After they belied the messengers and killed the believer, there was a single and sudden Divine Outcry and they all became silent and Motionless corpses.
* {{qref|105|1-5}}: [[Al-Fil|Companions of the Elephant]] who were stoned by birds, because they wanted to destroy the [[Kaaba]].

==Alleged modern examples==
Since the [[1812 Caracas earthquake]] occurred on [[Maundy Thursday]] while the [[Venezuelan War of Independence]] was raging, it was explained by royalist authorities as divine punishment for the rebellion against the Spanish Crown. The [[Archdiocese of Caracas|archbishop of Caracas]], Narciso Coll y Prat, referred to the event as "the terrifying but well-deserved earthquake" which "confirms in our days the prophecies revealed by God to men about the ancient impious and proud cities: Babylon, Jerusalem and the Tower of Babel".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nacimiento de una nación; Terremoto de 1812 |url=http://www.fpolar.org.ve/Encarte/fasciculo7/fasc0709.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060820151845/http://www.fpolar.org.ve/Encarte/fasciculo7/fasc0709.html |archivedate=August 20, 2006 |language=spanish}}</ref> This prompted the widely quoted answer of [[Simón Bolívar]]: "If Nature is against us, we shall fight Nature and make it obey".<ref>"Birth of a World: Bolivar in Terms of His Peoples". Book by Waldo David Frank, p. 55, 1951.</ref>

While some Orthodox Jews believed that the Holocaust was divine retribution for sins, this argument has many critics.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lasker |first1=Daniel J. |title=Reflection: The Holocaust as Retributive Justice |journal=Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies |date=1997 |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=97–105 |doi=10.1353/sho.1997.0059 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/60/article/472063/summary |issn=1534-5165|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In contrast, many Germans at the time believed that the [[bombing of Germany]] was divine retribution for the [[November pogrom]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bankier |first1=David |title=The Final Solution |date=1994 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-203-20631-7 |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203206317-20/german-public-awareness-final-solution-david-bankier |chapter=GERMAN PUBLIC AWARENESS OF THE FINAL SOLUTION|doi=10.4324/9780203206317-20 |doi-broken-date=6 February 2025 }}</ref> although seeing the bombings as divine retribution became less popular after the war.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hughes |first1=M.L. |title='Through No Fault of Our Own': West Germans Remember Their War Losses |journal=German History |date=1 February 2000 |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=193–213 |doi=10.1191/026635500670467229}}</ref>

The [[1953 Waco tornado outbreak]] was regarded by some people in the local [[African Americans|African-American community]] as divine retribution for the [[lynching of Jesse Washington]] over thirty years prior.<ref name="Carrigan">{{cite book|last1=Carrigan|first1=William D.|title=The Making of a Lynching Culture: Violence and Vigilantism in Central Texas, 1836–1916|date=2006|publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]]|location=Champaign|isbn=978-0-252-07430-1|page=198}}</ref>

Various Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious leaders claimed that [[Hurricane Katrina]] was God's punishment on America, New Orleans or the world for any of a variety of alleged sins, including [[abortion]], [[sexual immorality]] (including the gay pride event [[Southern Decadence]]), the policies of the [[American imperialism|American Empire]], failure to support [[Israel]], and failure of black people to study the [[Torah]].<ref name="yosef">{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3138779,00.html|title=Rabbi: Hurricane punishment for pullout|newspaper=Ynetnews|date=7 September 2005|last1=Alush|first1=Zvi}}</ref><ref name="hagee">NPR: [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6097362 Pastor John Hagee on Christian Zionism.]  September 18, 2006.</ref><ref name="chron">{{cite web|url=http://www.chron.com/news/hurricanes/article/Some-say-natural-catastrophe-was-divine-judgment-1938772.php|title=Some say natural catastrophe was 'divine judgment'|date=4 September 2005}}</ref>

The [[2007 UK floods]] were claimed by [[Graham Dow]] to be God's punishment against homosexuals.<ref name="flooding">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2012/oct/30/hurricane-sandy-disasters-blamed-gay-community|title=Superstorm Sandy and many more disasters that have been blamed on the gay community | location=London | work=The Guardian|first=Tim|last=Dowling|date=October 30, 2012}}</ref>

Televangelist [[Pat Robertson]] stirred up controversy after claiming that the [[2010 Haiti earthquake]] may have been God's belated punishment on Haitians for allegedly having made a "pact with the Devil" to overthrow the French during the [[Haitian Revolution]].<ref name="haiti">{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pat-robertson-haiti-cursed-after-pact-to-the-devil/ |title=Pat Robertson: Haiti "Cursed" After "Pact to the Devil" |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120906033735/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-12017-504083.html |archive-date=September 6, 2012 }}</ref> [[Yehuda Levin]], an [[Orthodox Jewish]] [[rabbi]], linked the earthquake to [[gays in the military]] via an alleged [[Talmudic]] teaching that homosexuality causes earthquakes.<ref name="salon">{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/2012/10/30/fear_the_almighty_wrath_five_natural_disasters_caused_by_gays/|title=Fear the almighty wrath: Five natural disasters "caused" by gays|date=30 October 2012}}</ref> Levin posted a video onto [[YouTube]] the same day as [[2011 Virginia earthquake]] in which he said, "The Talmud states, "You have shaken your male member [[anal sex|in a place where it doesn't belong]]. I too, will shake the Earth". He said that homosexuals shouldn't take it personally: "We don't hate homosexuals. I feel bad for homosexuals. It's a revolt against God and literally, there's hell to pay".<ref name="salon"/>

Chaplain John McTernan said that [[Hurricane Isaac (2012)|Hurricane Isaac]], like Hurricane Katrina, was God's punishment on homosexuals.<ref name="flooding"/> Buster Wilson of the [[American Family Association]] concurred that statement.<ref name="salon"/>

McTernan also said that [[Hurricane Sandy]] may have been God's punishment against homosexuals. In addition, [[WorldNetDaily]] columnist William Koenig, along with McTernan himself, suggested that American support for a [[two-state solution]] to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict led to the hurricane.<ref name="salon"/>

Malaysian politician [[Ahmad Zahid Hamidi]] said the brutal [[2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami|2018 Central Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami]] was "God's (Allah) rage against homosexuals in Indonesia because they were allowed to living in Indonesia".<ref>{{cite web |title=Kaitkan LGBT dengan Gempa-Tsunami di Sulteng, Politisi Malaysia Dikecam |url=https://www.benarnews.org/indonesian/berita/lgbt-palu-10242018131739.html |language=id |last=Aprilia |first=Keisyah |publisher=BenarNews Indonesia |access-date=9 March 2024 |date=24 October 2018 }}</ref>

Orthodox rabbi [[Shmuel Eliyahu]] said the brutal [[2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake]] was "God's tribunal on Turkey and Syria since they were considered anti-Jewish like former [[Nazi Germany]] because their support for [[Palestine]]".{{efn|Shmuel Eliyahu did not mentioned Nazi Germany and Palestine on his "God's tribunal" speech but some Orthodox rabbis, particularly Zionists might mentioned Nazi Germany and Palestine on their "God's tribunal" speech as a response to the brutal 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake.}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Turkey-Syria earthquake: Controversial Israeli rabbi calls disaster 'divine justice' |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-syria-earthquake-controversial-israeli-rabbi-calls-disaster-divine-justice |publisher=Middle East Eye |access-date=24 April 2024 |date=12 February 2023}}</ref>

Iraqi Shia cleric [[Muqtada al-Sadr]] said the brutal 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake was "God's (Allah) rebuke against Turkey because weak response against the holy book (Quran) burning by right wing extremist groups in Sweden".<ref>{{cite web |title=Syria-Turkey earthquake 'divine punishment' for Arabs 'lax response' to Quran burnings: Sadr |work=The New Arab |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/lax-response-quran-burning-led-turkey-earthquake-sadr |access-date=16 July 2024 |date=7 February 2023}}</ref>

[[Islamic State|ISIS]] officials said the brutal 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake was "God's (Allah) rage against Turkey for renounced Sharia laws, replaced it with unbeliever (Kuffar) laws and enforced it, adopted unbeliever lifestyles, declared war against ISIS and allied with the army of unbelievers ([[NATO]])" in their propaganda narrative.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hstoday.us/featured/how-isis-and-al-qaeda-exploit-the-earthquake-in-turkey-to-mobilize-support/ |title=How ISIS and al-Qaeda Exploit the Earthquake in Turkey to Mobilize Support |last=Botobekov |first=Uran |publisher=Homeland Security Today |access-date=12 January 2024 |date=27 February 2023 }}</ref>

===Rebuttals===
Orthodox rabbi [[Shmuley Boteach]] denounces such claims since they carry the implication of [[victim blaming]],<ref name="shmuley">{{Cite web|url=https://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/2005/09/the-defiant-man-of-faith.aspx|title=The Defiant Man of Faith|website=www.beliefnet.com}}</ref>  writing that "For many of the faithful, the closer they come to God, the more they become enemies of man." He contrasts the Jewish tradition, which affords a special place to "arguing with God", with an approach to religion that "taught people not to challenge, but to submit. Not to question, but to obey. Not how to stand erect, but to be stooped and bent in the broken posture of the meek and pious."<ref name="shmuley"/> Speaking about the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], Boteach said "I utterly reject and find it sickening when people believe that this is some kind of punishment from God – that really upsets me."<ref name="auto8">{{Cite web|url=https://7news.com.au/the-morning-show/rabbi-shmuley-explains-how-couples-can-reignite-their-sexual-chemistry-during-coronavirus-lockdown-c-986318|title=How to reignite your sexual chemistry during the COVID-19 lockdown|author=Rodney Pratt and Jenny Ky|date=April 20, 2020|website=7News.com.au}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.northjersey.com/story/life/2020/04/06/passover-2020-likely-have-special-resonance-time-coronavirus-nj/2889712001/|title=The Passover story has new relevance in the age of coronavirus|date=April 6, 2020|first=Jim|last=Beckerman|website=North Jersey Media Group}}</ref>

A [[Jesuit]] priest, [[James J. Martin (priest)|James Martin]], wrote on Twitter in response to [[Hurricane Sandy]] that "If any religious leaders say tomorrow that the hurricane is God's punishment against some group they're idiots. God's ways are not our ways."<ref name="martin">{{Cite web|url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/hurricane-sandy-gods-punishment-priest-shuts-down-claims-as-twitter-users-mock-pat-robertson.html|title=Hurricane Sandy God's Punishment? Priest Shuts Down Claims as Twitter Users Mock Pat Robertson|first1=Nicola|last1=Menzie|first2=Christian Post|last2=Reporter|date=October 29, 2012|website=The Christian Post}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Act of God]]
* [[Christian eschatology]]
* [[Confirmation bias]]
* [[Divine judgment]]
* [[Divine providence]]
* [[Eye for an eye]]
* [[Frontier justice]]
* [[Just-world fallacy]]
* [[Karma]]
* [[Collective punishment]]
* [[Mills of God]]
* [[Nemesis]]
* [[Penal substitution]]
* [[Retribution (poem)|"Retribution" (poem)]]
* [[Retributive justice]]
* [[Societal collapse]]
* [[Western Christianity]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* R. G. V. Tasker. [http://www.theologicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/wrath_tasker.pdf The Biblical Doctrine of the Wrath of God]
* [https://www.degruyter.com/viewbooktoc/product/506053 Gili Kugler, When God Wanted to Destroy the Chosen People: Biblical Traditions and Theology on the Move]
* W. L. Craig.[http://www.reasonablefaith.org/true-love True Love: The Doctrine of Divine Retribution]
* Herbert W. Byrne. [https://books.google.com/books?id=LbBYt5_ZG_YC&q=%22wrath+of+god%22-film The Wrath of God] (2005 {{ISBN|1-59781-511-X}})

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Divine Retribution}}
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Attributes of God in Christian theology]]
[[Category:Relationship between Heaven and Mankind]]
[[Category:Punishment]]
[[Category:Supernatural legends]]
[[Category:Divinity]]
[[Category:Retribution]]