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Consider the good being done now in Haiti
Q: Many have criticized Pat Robertson's suggestion that the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti was the work of the devil or a form of divine punishment. But if one believes God is good and intervenes in the world, why does God allow innocents to suffer? What is the best scriptural text or explanation of that problem you've ever read?
I marvel at Pat Robertson's ability to draw attention to himself. But if his peculiar comments spur a greater awareness of and compassion for the Haitian people, so be it.
There's no Bible verse that will "explain" human suffering in a way that will be widely satisfactory. In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus says that God "causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain the righteous and the unrighteous." But the key aspect of that statement is its location, coming amidst his call to radical love of humanity, including one's enemies. His demands are exceptionally challenging.
One might wonder if the call to love--by people of many faiths and none--isn't now being demonstrated remarkably, as hundreds of millions of dollars and thousand of aid workers pour into Haiti. The poorest nation in the hemisphere--no one's major trading partner and of strategic value to none--has become a top priority of governments and individuals alike.
I'm with Brad Hirschfield on this. You can look at the response to the earthquake and ask, Where is God in that?
By
Gustav Niebuhr
|
January 20, 2010; 2:38 PM ET
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Posted by: NorwegianShooter | January 27, 2010 12:12 AM
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"But if his peculiar comments spur a greater awareness of and compassion for the Haitian people, so be it."
Ah - so God is working through Pat after all?
"One might wonder if the call to love--by people of many faiths and none--isn't now being demonstrated remarkably, as hundreds of millions of dollars and thousand of aid workers pour into Haiti."
What a surprise. God gets a free pass on slaughtering tens of thousands and a credit for the actions of those that clean up the mess.
This really is beyond tiresome. How many thousands must die in agony before God gets the blame in your book?
Posted by: fresnoBob | January 22, 2010 6:51 PM
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I agree with Christians' & Muslims' basic commandments:
1. One should exploit others suffering to spread one's own religion.
2. Charity should be done with an ulterior motive to gain power.
3. One should identify weakness in another country and culture. Then, instead of letting them correct problems, one should exploit.
4. Divide and conquer.
5. Always pretend to do charity. This provides the perfect cover for the true agenda.
6. Always remember that my god is better than the other's god. Use this belief to justify and rationalize acts of deception & destruction.
7. Religion is about winning and expanding, not about spiritual development.
8. Might is right.
9. If the whole world can be converted to Islam or Christianity, we will win. Then we will destroy the other inferior religion.
10. Peace on Earth and goodwill to mankind - NOT.
Posted by: clearthinking1 | January 21, 2010 12:18 AM
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The comments to this entry are closed.
"There's no Bible verse that will "explain" human suffering in a way that will be widely satisfactory."
Congratulations! You are the first believer I've read here who even addressed the second question asked. And I appreciate your candor in saying you can't answer it. But the scare quotes around explain sure are weird. Why did you use them?
But you didn't do any better with the first question. "You can look at the response to the earthquake," actually the question asked you to look at the suffering caused by the earthquake, not the response.