Eutrusca
09-01-2005, 21:08
This is an article that appeared today [ Sunday, Jan. 9, 2005 ] in our local newspaper, the News & Record. I thought I would share it here to give you some idea about how different religious faiths view the SE Asia tsunami disaster, and about the variety of faiths in a "red" State. :D
Your comments are humbly solicited. :)
Where Is God In Tragedy?
by Nancy H. McLaughlin
Greensboro - The Rev. Don Miller, pastor of westover Church, tacked a picture on his computer screen as he wrote today's sermon. It shows 20 people fleeing from a wave of unimaginable force.
"It's very obvious that in a matter of seconds every one of these people are going to be swept under and killed by these waves," Miller said.
"I have no easy answers. I think those who believe in God have to recognize that things like this, for instance earthquakes that cause the tsunamis, point out how vulnerable we are. I think you will have quick, simplistic responses - 'God does these things to judge or warn people.' Scripture does show us there are times when God does use natural disasters to wake us up, to get our attention, to judge us. The difficulty is we aren't God, and for us to pronounce that is the case is rather presumptuous."
Answers don't come easy as faith leaders in the Triad contemplate the "whys" of one of the most devastating natural disasters in centuries. The death toll is upward of 150,000 two weeks after an earthquake triggered a tsunami off the coast of southeast Asia.
The tragedy touches so many lives because it cuts across so many faiths. The terrifying tides swept away the Muslim, the Jew, the Hindu, the Buddhist, the Christian. The devastation that corssed more than 2,000 acres has left questions for them all.
"On the one hand, we believe that God is good and that God is all powerful, and how could God allow this to happen? And we can be angry at God," said Tabbi Eli Havivi of Beth David Synagogue.
"On the other hand, another part of us believes that God created nature, But that God isn't in nature - earthquakes and cancer cells and tsunamis and chidren dying sometimes happen as part of nature," Havivi said. "Where is God? Perhaps it is God who inspires us to be reactive in a Godlike way - to lend a hand, to soothe, to provide, to comfort, to rebuild."
The differing views of God's ( or a god's ) omnipotence is vivid in how people of faith see the destruction.
"The owner of the flowers, he has the right to remove them from one place to another, and God, he owns these souls and he has the right to do anything he wants and he wishes and the souls [ lost in the tsunami ] are like the flowers," said Badi Ali, a faith leader at the Islamic Center of the Triad.
"It could be unfortunate in our eyes, but it's because we cannot understand the wisdom of God, Allah, at all times ...," Ali said. "Allah actually reated this life to test us. The test is how we respond, what is our responsibility. It's not sufficient to watch it on TV and do nothing."
Buddhists believe in karma, that what has been done in a previous life comes back on the individual. While the tsunami might not have been the punishment of those who died in it, it is a consequence of wrongdoing.
"Something we do, something we pray for," said Thich Quang Phouc, the Buddhist monk at Quan Am Temple.
Many of those who died were Hindus living in poor fishing communities.
"Many Hindus believe that God only does all these things," said Chander M. Anand of the Hindu Society of NC Triad.
Julie Peeples, the pastor of Congregational United Church of Christ, sees a God whose will was not in the waves.
"Did God will 150,000 to die in an instant, many of them little children? What kind of God would do that?" Peeples asked. "No, do not look for God's will in the destruction; look in the signs of hope and the unbounded ability of so many of God's creatures to care and give beyond what we think we can."
Max Carter, a Quaker and the chaplain at Guilford College, sees God as a loving parent, one who suffers with us.
"After having children of my own, I can relate. I would have loved to be omnipotent and protect them from their own mistakes or the ones that might accidentally come from choices they made," he said.
"But I could not both allow them to have free will and controle them totally at the same time. My wife and I chose the former, allowing them to express their own free will within the context of our guidance and nurture. They didn't always make the right decisions; life didn't always deal kindly with them."
Despite the differing perceptions, people of all faiths have come together to help the victimes in the disaster's aftermath.
"The way I see it is, we must become like one body. When one limb is hurting, the entire body should respond with care and come to the rescue of that part," said Ali, the faith leader at the Triad mosque. "The Prophet said take care of your 40th neighbor ... that means take care of the whole city."
Your comments are humbly solicited. :)
Where Is God In Tragedy?
by Nancy H. McLaughlin
Greensboro - The Rev. Don Miller, pastor of westover Church, tacked a picture on his computer screen as he wrote today's sermon. It shows 20 people fleeing from a wave of unimaginable force.
"It's very obvious that in a matter of seconds every one of these people are going to be swept under and killed by these waves," Miller said.
"I have no easy answers. I think those who believe in God have to recognize that things like this, for instance earthquakes that cause the tsunamis, point out how vulnerable we are. I think you will have quick, simplistic responses - 'God does these things to judge or warn people.' Scripture does show us there are times when God does use natural disasters to wake us up, to get our attention, to judge us. The difficulty is we aren't God, and for us to pronounce that is the case is rather presumptuous."
Answers don't come easy as faith leaders in the Triad contemplate the "whys" of one of the most devastating natural disasters in centuries. The death toll is upward of 150,000 two weeks after an earthquake triggered a tsunami off the coast of southeast Asia.
The tragedy touches so many lives because it cuts across so many faiths. The terrifying tides swept away the Muslim, the Jew, the Hindu, the Buddhist, the Christian. The devastation that corssed more than 2,000 acres has left questions for them all.
"On the one hand, we believe that God is good and that God is all powerful, and how could God allow this to happen? And we can be angry at God," said Tabbi Eli Havivi of Beth David Synagogue.
"On the other hand, another part of us believes that God created nature, But that God isn't in nature - earthquakes and cancer cells and tsunamis and chidren dying sometimes happen as part of nature," Havivi said. "Where is God? Perhaps it is God who inspires us to be reactive in a Godlike way - to lend a hand, to soothe, to provide, to comfort, to rebuild."
The differing views of God's ( or a god's ) omnipotence is vivid in how people of faith see the destruction.
"The owner of the flowers, he has the right to remove them from one place to another, and God, he owns these souls and he has the right to do anything he wants and he wishes and the souls [ lost in the tsunami ] are like the flowers," said Badi Ali, a faith leader at the Islamic Center of the Triad.
"It could be unfortunate in our eyes, but it's because we cannot understand the wisdom of God, Allah, at all times ...," Ali said. "Allah actually reated this life to test us. The test is how we respond, what is our responsibility. It's not sufficient to watch it on TV and do nothing."
Buddhists believe in karma, that what has been done in a previous life comes back on the individual. While the tsunami might not have been the punishment of those who died in it, it is a consequence of wrongdoing.
"Something we do, something we pray for," said Thich Quang Phouc, the Buddhist monk at Quan Am Temple.
Many of those who died were Hindus living in poor fishing communities.
"Many Hindus believe that God only does all these things," said Chander M. Anand of the Hindu Society of NC Triad.
Julie Peeples, the pastor of Congregational United Church of Christ, sees a God whose will was not in the waves.
"Did God will 150,000 to die in an instant, many of them little children? What kind of God would do that?" Peeples asked. "No, do not look for God's will in the destruction; look in the signs of hope and the unbounded ability of so many of God's creatures to care and give beyond what we think we can."
Max Carter, a Quaker and the chaplain at Guilford College, sees God as a loving parent, one who suffers with us.
"After having children of my own, I can relate. I would have loved to be omnipotent and protect them from their own mistakes or the ones that might accidentally come from choices they made," he said.
"But I could not both allow them to have free will and controle them totally at the same time. My wife and I chose the former, allowing them to express their own free will within the context of our guidance and nurture. They didn't always make the right decisions; life didn't always deal kindly with them."
Despite the differing perceptions, people of all faiths have come together to help the victimes in the disaster's aftermath.
"The way I see it is, we must become like one body. When one limb is hurting, the entire body should respond with care and come to the rescue of that part," said Ali, the faith leader at the Triad mosque. "The Prophet said take care of your 40th neighbor ... that means take care of the whole city."