Terror From the Heavens --- no not terrorist

It occurred to me yesterday, as I was watching a documentary on volcanoes, that we, as humans, really give ourselves too much credit. I often joke that although we have created billions of dollars and countless technological advances, we still base every currency on shiny rocks ... almost the same way we did thousands of years ago.
The thing is this. I was watching the documentary on volcanoes and was struck by the narrator's observations of the people of Pompeii and their acts after the volcano erupted. Essentially, most of the survivors claimed that the gods had been responsible for the terrible force of nature. They, of course, prayed for relief and were not rewarded.
I had a revelation! I remember seeing pastors like John Hagee on television saying that Hurricane Katrina was an act of god and that it was punishment for sin a la Sodom and Gomorrah.
I began to see that this isn't an uncommon notion ... that is attributing forces of nature to gods.
Things look bleak for the humans. What have we existed for maybe 15,000 years? And with all that time to develop, we're still staring up at the sky and attributing forces of nature to an invisible man in outer space.