Does God cause natural disasters?Scenes of hurricane-flooded cities, tsunami-devastated coastlines, war-ravaged countries, and other mass destruction and suffering can lead people of faith to ask the age-old question: Why do bad things happen to good people? For that matter, why do bad things happen at all, to anyone? Isn't God supposed to be good, all-powerful, and have a special love for the poor and vulnerable? How could such a God let poor and innocent people suffer on such a scale? We can dismiss one answer to this question: punishment. While both the Hebrew scriptures Hebrew Scriptures pl.n. Bible The Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings, forming the covenant between God and the Jewish people that is the foundation and Bible of Judaism while constituting for Christians the Old Testament. and the New Testament have stories of God smiting and otherwise laying waste the enemies of God's people, our understanding of God's action has developed to the point where we do not think of God causing suffering or punishing pun·ish v. pun·ished, pun·ish·ing, pun·ish·es v.tr. 1. To subject to a penalty for an offense, sin, or fault. 2. To inflict a penalty for (an offense). 3. people, even if they "deserve" it. God does not do evil. God does not arbitrarily destroy and kill and maim maim v. to inflict a serious bodily injury, including mutilation or any harm which limits the victim's ability to function physically. Originally, in English Common Law it meant to cut off or permanently cripple a bodily member like an arm, leg, hand, or foot. , and that's that. in fact, a good God cannot do evil. The answer usually given to what theologians call "the problem of evil" is freedom: The world, its natural processes, and its creatures, including its human creatures, are free to do as they will. Freedom, this argument runs, though it allows for bad things to happen, also makes for a richer experience in which creation can cooperate with God in redeeming the world and bringing it to its fulfillment ful·fill also ful·fil tr.v. ful·filled, ful·fill·ing, ful·fills also ful·fils 1. To bring into actuality; effect: fulfilled their promises. 2. . But think of all the bad things a "free" creation has allowed for. Are they not worse than the happiness we would have had if God had given creation the ability to do God's will Noun 1. God's Will - the omnipotence of a divine being omnipotence - the state of being omnipotent; having unlimited power perfectly? Are all the wars, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, genocides, murders, environmental degradations Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife. , and everyday acts of selfishness worth our precious freedom? So the free-will argument throws us back to the bad things question: Why would God let bad things happen? Because of freedom. But why would God give creation the freedom to destroy as well as to do good? The answer lies in what it means for God to create. Yes, we believe that God is large and in charge. But in creating the world and everything in it, God in a sense had to limit God's self. God's gift of self was and is a risk, and it gives, as St. Augustine pointed out, a certain fragility to creation. In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , for a perfect God to create some thing "not God," that something has to be imperfect imperfect: see tense. . And in this gift of a fragile creation lies our salvation. If God can create something out of nothing, then God can bring good out of any evil--joy out of sadness, gain out of loss, hope out of disaster, life out of death. It is for us to act with compassion and self-sacrifice in alleviating the suffering of others and helping with God's work. By JOEL SCHORN, an author and editor living in Chicago. His book God's Doorkeepers (2006) is available from Servant Books. |
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