It still annoys me that the WTS have never withdrawn their quote about the increased frequency of earthquakes (and this quote was used by several speakers in the recent special talk , unaware that the WTS has changed it’s position on this) , so I emailed the National Geophysical Data Center in Colorado and the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado to get their comments.
My email & replies:
Dear Sir / Madam,
The Watchtower Society of Pennsylvania (the corporate arm of Jehovah's Witnesses) have for over twenty years been using the following quote to support their belief that earthquakes have increased since 1914 in fulfillment of bible prophecy. The following quote appears in the latest editions of their books "Reasoning from the Scriptures" and their comprehensive bible encyclopaedia "Insight on the Scriptures". It was also referred to in a special public talk given to over 100,000 congregations to upwards of 15 million people worldwide in April 2007.
Quote: “Since 1914 C.E., there has been an increase in the number of earthquakes, resulting in much distress. With data obtained from the National Geophysical Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, supplemented by a number of standard reference works, a tabulation was made in 1984 that included only earthquakes that measured 7.5 or more on the Richter scale, or that resulted in destruction of five million dollars (U.S.) or more in property, or that caused 100 or more deaths. It was calculated that there had been 856 of such earthquakes during the 2,000 years before 1914. The same tabulation showed that in just 69 years following 1914 there were 605 of such quakes. These statistics are a means of indicating the extent of suffering from earthquakes during this period of history. End of quote
Does the NGDC agree that earthquake data supports this conclusion and are you happy to endorse this claim? If not, can I ask if you made any contact with the Watchtower society to ask them to withdraw or clarify this quotation?
I would be most grateful for your comments , as I am keen to clarify my views on his matter.
.National Earthquake Information Center .. There is absolutely no way to determine the number of earthquakes, of any magnitude, that occurred during the 2,000 years before 1914. If the NGDC database contains a certain number, those are only the earthquakes that happened to be felt and written about in the historical literature. It does not include the much larger number that either occurred in unpopulated areas or were not noted in the existing literature. Going by any meaningful statistics, there is no increase in the frequency of earthquakes. Any increase in damage and casualties can be ascribed to the rapid increase in population and the attendant growth of the built environment.
I would be happy to discuss this with a representative of the Watchtower Society should they wish to contact me.
Sincerely,
USGS/NEIC
National Geophysical Data Centre To my knowledge, the Watchtower Society has not made contact with us
here at NGDC to endorse any of their claims.
These conclusions are strictly those of the Watchtower Society.
Numerous variables had to be considered in drawing these conclusions -
variables that are outside the scope of what NGDC does.
It would be inappropriate scientifically and ethically for us to support
any such claims.