God and the Tsunami
The tsunami disaster has occupied the news for over a week now, and it's clear that the press are desperately looking for new angles on the story, or, even better, for a new story completely. Hence we are presented with questions over the role of the Foreign Office, Tony Blair's decision not to cut short his holiday, and the possible fast-tracking of David Milliband's adoption. None of these would normally attract much attention (though David Milliband may still have a tough time if any evidence emerges) but the press are hungry for anything new. And that probably explains the other prominent story about the tsunami: should we question our faith in God?The usual angle has been that thousands of believers are so shocked at the immense loss of life that they are questioning whether God is really in control, or even exists. Why did He allow it to happen? What are we meant to learn from it? The debate has accelerated rapidly over the last couple of days, with various high-ranking clerics of several denominations being persuaded, or even volunteering, to put their point of view. Atheists, too, have given their opinion, usually with some relish.
I'm disappointed in the way that the Christian fraternity have engaged in this particular debate, for a number of reasons. First, the Christian belief that there is a God is not based on the lack of earthquakes, or on the scale of disasters, so there is no need to argue this point at all. God exists, earthquakes and all. Why should this particular incident tip the scales of belief? Why not the recent earthquakes in Japan, Afghanistan and Turkey? Why is it that God's existence is not challenged when many hundreds of thousands die each year through famine, war, disease and crime? For me, the Christian response should have been, "Yes, earthquakes happen. They always have and always will. This one was the worst for some time and our hearts go out to all those affected. Now let's see what we can do to help."
Second, the suggestion that God should provide a "justification" for allowing the earthquake to happen is ridiculous. It is a basic tenet of the Christian faith that God is righteous, that he does "the right thing" every time. We might like to know why he allowed it to happen, but even if he were to share this with us in a way that we could understand, the conclusion would still be the same: he was not at fault. It's not difficult to understand why people think that they have a right to this information. Society has become more litigious, and constantly looks for someone to blame. At the same time, the media has created an expectation that we will get an explanation for everything, thanks to an army of pundits and investigative journalists, all armed with the latest in communications technology and wielding the Freedom of Information Act. But some things you can't learn from the TV; you need to go to Church.
This last point was what I found most sadly missing from the Christian response; the best way to understand God is to get to know him. Why didn't they tell people that they would find the answers they were looking for if they spent time with God in prayer, reading the bible, worshipping? Perhaps they will eventually, or, even if they don't, perhaps people will do these things and we'll be a Christian nation again.
posted by Neil @ 6:56 AM
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