GOD AND THE TSUNAMI

From the Houston Chronicle editorial page, an essay on God and tragedy from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks:

The simplest explanation is that of the 12th century sage, Moses Maimonides. Natural disasters, he said, have no explanation other than that God, by placing us in a physical world, set life within the parameters of the physical. Planets are formed, earthquakes occur, and sometimes innocents die.

To wish it were otherwise is in essence to wish that we were not physical beings at all. Then we would not know pleasure, desire, achievement, freedom, virtue, creativity, vulnerability and love. We would be angels — God's computers — programmed to sing his praise.

The religious question is, therefore, not "Why did this happen?" but "What then shall we do?" That is why, in synagogues, churches, mosques and temples, along with our prayers for the injured and the bereaved, we are asking people to donate money to assist the work of relief.

Click here for the rest.

I've been hearing about a couple of essays written by David Brooks, senior editor of the neo-con rag the Weekly Standard, about God's role in the tsunami and how removing Him from consideration robs the event of meaning. Earlier this evening, my wonderful wife Becky told me that today's AOL survey question was asking something to the effect about whether God caused the tsunami to happen. Enough is enough. God is not the divine puppet-master. The reality in which we live allows bad things to happen to good people and vice versa. We already know this to be true, and generally don't agonize over every minute detail of our lives in this way, although some do: "I found a fly in my soup; it must be God's will." I suppose that we endow the larger events of our lives with more cosmic significance, hence, all these questions about God's role in the tsunami. Such questions, however, make about as much sense as football players praying for a good game. Why must we assume that God has anything to do at all with any particular event in human life?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$