It's Tuesday, February 7, 2023.

I'm Albert Molar and this is The Briefing, a daily analysis of news and events from

a Christian world view.

If you're looking at earthquakes, one of the most terrifying experiences known to humanity

and one of the most destructive, both of human life and of civilization, it is hard to

imagine a region of the world more affected and more vulnerable when it comes to earthquakes.

And of course, we're talking about the massive earthquake that took place over the course

of the last couple of days and in particular, Sunday night and Monday, in the area that

included Eastern Turkey and Northwestern Syria.

And we're talking about a death toll that right now is estimated at something like 5,000

human beings with the World Health Organization indicating that the likelihood is that there

will be something like 20,000 deaths.

Now this is a horrifying news story.

We're talking about thousands upon thousands of human beings.

We're also talking about a very complex situation.

Now as you're thinking about this region of the world, just recognize this has been a

part of various empires throughout the history of the world.

And it has also been throughout all of recorded history going back to the classical age.

It has been one of the regions of the world most affected by deadly earthquakes.

We also need to understand something else.

And that is the fact that a response to this has a lot to do with the civilizational

health and the culture of the region.

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