Questioning God
Some Christians seem to have got themselves into somewhat of a theological quandary over the tsunami disaster. This is from
Asia News:
"As a human being, it is very difficult to really accept the situation," said Br Sakda Kitcharoen, provincial superior of the Congregation of St Gabriel, "but as Catholics we have to refer to Job so that we may understand and cope with the crisis. Why God who is the God of Love and Mercy let such a thing happen? What is his real plan? At this time, the most important thing is to encourage one another and lend a helping hand as much as possible."
I've previously explored the question of why bad things happen (for example “Why
do bad Things Happen to Good People”), and the question is essentially the same
whether we are talking about someone we know being killed in a road accident or
a catastrophe on a huge scale, as we have just seen.
Occasionally airplanes crash as a result of an aircraft mechanic failing to do
his job correctly. A bolt left not tightened up correctly or a worn part not replaced
results in disaster. When there is a plane crash it appears capricious as to who
is killed and who survives. It may be the mechanic who didn't do his job properly
but it's often the children or the weakest who are killed. We could ask exactly
the same question here: “Why God who is the God of Love and Mercy let such a thing
happen? What is his real plan?”. His plan we can never know. The finite can never
understand the infinite, but what we call death is merely a passing through from
one plane of existence to another and we should bear this in mind when it seems
that the kindest, most humble people have been killed while others who seem less
deserving survive. The plane crash may be a result of human error and, as a result,
standards are tightened up. We learn from the mistakes, but why one person should
die and another survive, or why one error results in a crash and another doesn't,
is out of our hands.
When a lioness hunts a heard of antelope she chases them until the weakest stumbles. The animal is then devoured whist still alive. Everyday animals are mercilessly killed in the food chain. This is part of evolution. What the human race is going through is simply part of the same process.
