God & Natural Disasters

THE EDITOR, Madame:

While the recent 5.6 magnitude earthquake physically and emotionally shocked Jamaicans to the core, it precipitated the rise of an age-old religious conviction that natural disasters are God’s way of punishing wicked people. With successive socio-economic and natural disasters distressing Haitians, we heard similar views due to Haiti’s practice of its indigenous religion, Voodooism, which is seen as evil by an ignorant and misinformed Hollywood culture. The late Archbishop Samuel Carter thoroughly addressed the tenacity of this age-old religious belief in a Pastoral Letter entitled God and Natural Disaster in the miserable aftermath of Hurricane Gilbert in 1988.

Like many professed Christians, Carter was deeply concerned about God’s role and responsibility amidst natural disasters. To this end, he engaged in a dialogue between scientific discoveries about the causes of natural disasters and the rich tradition of the Christian faith. His first conclusion from science is that natural disasters result from naturally created phenomena. Then, the letter progresses to address the question: what is God’s role in natural disasters? He posits that God created the earth and its accompanying movements involving the elements of wind, air, matter, and energy. Furthermore, God created human beings with the intellectual capacity to understand the actions within creation, to cooperate with it, to live lovingly with each other, and to perceive God’s revelation in creation (Romans 1:20).

Due to humanity’s existential limitations, God’s revelation is gradually perceived as similar to the men exiting the dark cave into the light in Plato’s Republic. Consequently, without modern scientific knowledge, the ancient world concluded that disasters manifested God’s anger and retribution. Archbishop Cater writes, “While we believe that God created nature, we do not believe that He intervenes indiscriminately for purposes of revenge and punishment, or favour and assistance” because “God did not invent death, and when living creatures die, it gives Him no pleasure” (Wisdom 1:12-15). He also writes that prayer is not a means to manipulate or negotiate with God but to “experience His presence, love, courage and strength for whatever might happen.”  In concluding, he writes that Christians pray that if disaster strikes, “we shall be inspired by God’s love to help one another. . .”

Let us not waste time with religious ignorance that blames God. God does not send natural disasters. God gives us the intellectual capacity to address every issue and promises his presence. Therefore, we must enforce building codes based on engineering science, develop and sustain a resilient environment, assist people experiencing poverty in acquiring resilient housing, and alleviate hardships during disasters. Don’t blame God for our disobedience, selfishness, ignorance, and stubbornness.

Fr. Donald Chambers, JP