Earthquake Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Earthquake Paper - Essay Example The earthquake was marked by a thrust-faulting focal mechanism which saw the subduction of the Nazca plate underneath the South American Tectonic Plates (USGS, 2010). For Haiti, the earthquake occurred at the northern boundary of the Caribbean tectonic plate which shifts eastwards per year in relation to the North American Plate (Amos, 2010). The depth of focus for the Japan earthquake was 32 kilometers, for the Haiti earthquake, it was 13 kilometers, and for the Chile earthquake, it was 35 kilometers. The tsunami which followed the Japan earthquake caused a greater damage than the earthquake itself. The earthquake caused a 5-8 meter upthrust in a 180-km seabed offshore from the coast of Tohoku which then caused the tsunami which devastated Japan’s northern islands and the Pacific coastline (CNN Wire Staff, 2011). The tsunami extended across the Pacific with warnings issued to coastal towns. Chile, which was the furthest area from Japan still felt tsunami waves 2 meters high. In the Omoe peninsula, Miyako city, and the Iwate prefecture, tsunami waves were also felt (Yomiuri Shimbun, 2011). The height of the tsunamis hitting Japan ranged from as low as three meters to as high as 13 meters, covering about 560 square kilometers of Japan, and the waves were seen an hour after the earthquake hit first in Sendai airport and in the rest of the northern coast of Japan following (CNN Wire Staff, 2011). A four meter tsunami would also hit the Iwate prefecture and the Wakabayashi Ward in Sendai. A major part of Kuji and Ofunato were destroyed and in Rikuzentakata, tsunami waves were reported at about three stories high (CNN Wire Staff). Damages in the cities of Kamaishi, Miyako, Yamada, Namie, Soma, Minamisoma, Shichigahama, among others were also reported. The most severe impact of the tsunami was felt along the coastline stretching from Erimo to Oarai with bridges washed out and a wide swath of general destruction (CNN

Martin Luthers objective or purpose on writting on indulgence Essay

Martin Luthers objective or purpose on writting on indulgence - Essay Example lieve that if they have purchased letters of indulgence they are sure of their salvation; again, that so soon as they cast their contributions into the money-box, souls fly out of purgatory.† And then, â€Å"Thus souls committed to your care, good Father, are taught to their death.† In this statements Luther is advancing his rhetorical argument by implying that by the Church convincing people that they can buy their way into heaven they may actually be being their way into hell, as true salvation cannot be achieved through such means. In this regard, Luther’s intention is to make an injunction in papal policy that will save these people from eternal damnation. Luther also considers the practical aspects of allowing the sale of indulgences, indicating that he believes it will have a deleterious effect on an individual’s spirituality. Luther writes, â€Å"works of piety and love are infinitely better than indulgences, and yet these are not preached with such ceremony or such zeal; nay, for the sake of preaching the indulgences they are kept quiet.† Even as Luther understands that salvation can only be achieved by accepting God and asking him for forgiveness, he still indicates that pious behavior and love are great elements of spirituality. In promoting the sale of indulgences, preachers have disregarded these tenants of spirituality and have instead shifted focus to the promotion of these indulgences. Luther’s argument is that in order to effectively sell the indulgences, preachers have adopted an approach to spirituality that emphasizes redemption through money, rather than piety and belief in God. An even worse sin h owever is the willful disregard for the scripture. Luther writes, â€Å"Christ never taught that indulgences should be preached. How great then is the horror, how great the peril of a bishop, if he permits the Gospel to be kept quiet, and nothing but the noise of indulgences to be spread among his people!† Here it seems as if Luther is