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THE QUESTION
God and Disaster
A question as we commemorate the anniversaries of Katrina and 9/11: Why would a merciful God allow disasters -- natural or manmade -- to happen?
Posted by
Sally Quinn and Jon Meacham on September 5, 2007 6:03 AM
FROM THE PANEL
Tribulation and Redemption
A merciful God offers Heaven and perfection -- with no terrorist attacks, no storms and no tears.
Posted by Cal Thomas, on September 10, 2007 6:38 AM
Short Answer to a Hard Question
The question of why a merciful God allows disasters has been one of the most vexing questions for thousands of years. Any answer to such a profound question in so short a space is going to feel either inadequate or...
Posted by Charles "Chuck" Colson, on September 10, 2007 6:28 AM
"In the beginning, GOD...."
In biblical religion, "faith" is the term for affirming the non-sense that God is both powerful and good, both infinite and involved in finite affairs.
Posted by Willis E. Elliott, on September 7, 2007 11:38 AM
How Big is Your God?
The answer to the question how does God allow disasters like hurricane Katrina depends on what kind of God we believe in. The question assumes a God living high up above, a Divine Puppeteer or Shepard of sheep who rewards...
Posted by Irwin Kula, on September 7, 2007 8:10 AM
Making Good For, Not From Evil
Nobody has the answer to this question; only ways of thinking about it. Mostly we prefer not to think about it.
Posted by Kathleen Flake, on September 7, 2007 8:03 AM
Letting God Off the Hook
Hinduism is not hobbled by monotheism, and therefore most Hindus do not assume that their god is merciful, or all-knowing, or all-powerful.
Posted by Wendy Doniger, on September 6, 2007 11:30 AM
Opposition in All Things
"I am not complaining,” my father wrote to my mother from war-ravaged Europe during the closing days of World War 2, when he finally reached the safety of American lines after three years as a POW. “I would not appreciate...
Posted by Michael Otterson, on September 6, 2007 10:43 AM
"Oh, My God!"
When great tragedy strikes, people will try to make theological sense of it. When they don’t have any good theology to use, they will use bad theology.
Posted by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, on September 6, 2007 9:27 AM
I Don't Know
There are libraries full of answers, none of them informed, because humans do not know the mind of God.
Posted by Martin Marty, on September 6, 2007 8:24 AM
God With Us, Not Working Against Us
The belief that God is the causal agent in natural disasters and religious fanaticism is just plain bad theology.
Posted by John Bryson Chane, on September 5, 2007 10:59 AM
The Theodicy Problem: No Problem for An Atheist
If there were a deity responsible for both human evil and impersonal natural disasters, I would hate him.
Posted by Susan Jacoby, on September 5, 2007 8:38 AM
Big Question, Bigger Assumptions
We are never, repeat never, in a position where we can size up God and decide what such a being ought really to do.
Posted by Nicholas T. Wright, on September 5, 2007 7:42 AM
Don't Second Guess God
It's only natural to ask questions like why would God, especially a merciful, loving God, allow this or that horrible thing to happen. The problem with the answers we usually arrive at is that we really cannot know; and, indeed,...
Posted by Pamela K. Taylor, on May 5, 2007 9:49 PM
Save & Share:
Elisha: If there was no suffering, then how would anyone respect the happiness and the gifts that they have in their lives?? There are disasters in...
Steven Carr: There is great consolation in the wise words of Jesus.
Jesus was asked about innocent people killed in a tragic accident.
Let us ponder th...
Rob Adams: I think these types of question really shine the light on our misunderstanding about God and the nature of the universe. The answer to why a...
