They would have thought it an act of God and branded anyone who said otherwise an evil lying heretic. People still do that today, for instance in the comments (

They would have thought it an act of God and branded anyone who said otherwise an evil lying heretic. People still do that today, for instance in the comments (15 pages worth) to this post about Blood Falls where the author chose to use the word evolve: http://www.good.is/post/science-rules-antarctic-glacier-has-five-story-blood-red-waterfall-of-primodial-ooze/ http://www.good.is/post/science-rules-antarctic-glacier-has-...