Christians are indoctrinated to attribute good fortune to “Providence” and to ascribe misfortune to their own sins.

When Philip II of Spain launched his mighty Armada against “heretical” England, he had proclaimed his enterprise “the cause of God”. But when “the cause of God” came to nothing and the Armada was shipwrecked off the Irish coast, Philip put the blame for the catastrophe on his own sins.

After the collapse of the Second Crusade (1146-48), Bernard of Clairvaux, who had organised the Crusade, refused to assume responsibility for the debacle. He replied to his critics that the disaster was a punishment for Christian sins.

When Chartres Cathedral burnt down in 1194, the discouraged inhabitants of the town lost faith in the Virgin and wished to abandon their town. The papal legate, Melior, told them the calamity had been sent by God to punish them for their sins.

During the Black Plague in the 14th century, Christians tried to atone for their sins by prayers and penance and by the purging of heretics and Jews. None of these measures worked. God was only appeased after an estimated 75 to 200 million people in Eurasia were exterminated.