Earth survived near-miss from 2012 solar storm: NASA

Back in 2012, the Sun erupted with a powerful solar storm that just missed the Earth but was big enough to "knock modern civilization back to the 18th century," NASA said.

The extreme space weather that tore through Earth's orbit on July 23, 2012, was the most powerful in 150 years, according to a statement posted on the US space agency website Wednesday.

However, few Earthlings had any idea what was going on. Keep reading

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Solar flare nearly destroyed Earth 2 years ago: NASA

Why, you may be wondering, did I post this article on a blog that is primarily devoted to building up Christ's Church in North America and beyond. First, I see divine providence behind this near-miss. God spared us from a natural disaster of global magnitude for a purpose.

Second, high tech countries like the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and China are particularly vulnerable to the kind of damage that this type of solar storm can cause.

Third, we live in extremely troubling times and such a disaster would not only greatly damage the world economy along with regional economies but also would result in other changes of seismic proportions.

Fourth, we are not prepared for the local effects of such a disaster, much less its global effects.

This near-miss should impress upon us the urgency of spreading the gospel to the remotest corners of the planet and making disciples of all people groups. It also should impress upon us the need for more comprehensive community and church planning for all kinds of emergencies, including major solar flares.

Are we prepared to live like folks lived in the 18th century for as long as it takes to recover from such a disaster, assuming that we can recover from it?

I have experienced lengthy power outages after hurricanes and ice storms and I have watched my community come to a juddering halt--no electricity, no water, no food, no gas.

My mother and her sister refused to evacuate when Hurricane Katrina threatened Louisiana in 2005. I stayed with them since they would not leave. When the hurricane made landfall, we were fortunate enough to be on the side of the hurricane where there was the least damage. The area was still devastated--widespread power outages, flooding, and trees down across the roads.

The Old Order Amish on their farms in the rural countryside were the folks at least affected by the ice storm that hit my part of Kentucky in 2009.

These two natural disasters left me with a greater appreciation of the need for emergency preparedness, as well as the extent of God's grace.

Photo: Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA