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Divine retribution is a supernatural punishment usually directed towards all or some portions of humanity by a deity
Deity

A deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divinity, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by human beings....
.

This theological
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
 concept exists in virtually all major religions. Many culture
Culture

Culture is difficult to define. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions....
s also have at least one story about how a deity exacted punishment on previous inhabitants of their land, causing their doom.

An example of Divine retribution is the story found in many cultures about a great flood destroying part or nearly all of mankind, as described in the Epic of Gilgamesh
Epic of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poetry from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the ancient literature. Scholars believe that it originated as a series of Sumerian legends and poems about the mythological hero-king Gilgamesh, which were gathered into a longer Akkadian language poem much later; the most complete version existing today is pr...
 or Book of Genesis (6:9-8:22), leaving one principle 'chosen' survivor.






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Divine retribution is a supernatural punishment usually directed towards all or some portions of humanity by a deity
Deity

A deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divinity, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by human beings....
.

This theological
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
 concept exists in virtually all major religions. Many culture
Culture

Culture is difficult to define. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions....
s also have at least one story about how a deity exacted punishment on previous inhabitants of their land, causing their doom.

An example of Divine retribution is the story found in many cultures about a great flood destroying part or nearly all of mankind, as described in the Epic of Gilgamesh
Epic of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poetry from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the ancient literature. Scholars believe that it originated as a series of Sumerian legends and poems about the mythological hero-king Gilgamesh, which were gathered into a longer Akkadian language poem much later; the most complete version existing today is pr...
 or Book of Genesis (6:9-8:22), leaving one principle 'chosen' survivor. In the former example it is Utnapishtim, and in the latter example Noah
Noah

Noah was, according to the Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs ; and a prophet according to the Qur'an. The biblical story of Noah is contained in the book of Book of Genesis, chapters 5-9, while the Qur'an has a whole sura named after and devoted to his story with other references elsewhere....
. References in the Qur'an
Qur'an

The Qur?an is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur?an to be the book of divine guidance and direction for mankind, and consider the original Arabic text to be the final revelation of God....
 to a man named Nuh who was commanded by God to build an ark also suggest that one man and his followers were saved in a great flood.

Other examples in Hebrew religious literature include the dispersion of the builders of the Tower of Babel
Tower of Babel

The Tower of Babel according to chapter 11 of the Book of Genesis, was an enormous tower built at the city of Babel, the Hebrew name for Babylon ....
 (Genesis 11:1-9), the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah

According to the Old Testament Biblical book of Genesis, Sodom and Gomorrah were two cities in the Bible which were destroyed by God ....
 (Genesis 18:20-21, 19:23-28), and the Ten Plagues visited upon the ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an Ancient history civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile in what is now the modern nation of Egypt....
ians for persecuting God's chosen people, the Children of Israel (Exodus, Chapters 7-12).

Christian beliefs have the final wrath just subsequent to the Great Tribulation (persecution from Satan and the Beast/Antichrist). Revelation hold God to sound trumpets and pour from vials/bowls to afflict the remaining disobedient population of the planet.

The concept of divine retribution is controversial because stories of divine retribution often depict God as acting in an irrational way, punishing the innocent, and killing even children and babies in his fury.

Popular culture

Some parody religions, such as Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, parody the concept of Divine retribution. These religions assert that their own deity has a hand in the creation of natural disasters.

Divine retribution is the driving force of Shakespeare's War of the Roses tetralogy, comprising the plays 1 Henry VI, 2 Henry VI, 3 Henry VI and Richard III, in which the Houses of York and Lancaster are made to atone for the sin of deposing a rightful king, Richard II.

In the movie The Divine Enforcer (1992), a priest becomes a vigilante in response to increased crime in Los Angeles. He falls for a young lady who has visions of a serial killer murdering people. But when she gets kidnapped by the killer himself, the priest speaks these words, "Open the gates of Hell! For I am the right hand of God!"

See also

  • Divine Intervention
    Divine Intervention

    Divine intervention is another term for a miracle, often when caused by God.Divine Intervention may also refer to:*Divine Intervention , a 1994 album by Slayer...
  • Religion
    Religion

    A religion is an organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of myth, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural or transcendence quality, that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power or truth....