In the Aftermath of the Tsunami, God is in the Forefront

We seem to be people with a very short memory at times.  It was only a little more than three years ago that the Twin Towers in New York came crashing down in the aftermath of a terrorist attack, yet we seem to have moved on in certain respects which are beneficial, and in others which are not.

We have picked up and moved on, making new what was possible in the wake of the terrorist attack.  And we have also moved on in our discussions about God since then as well.  That was until an earthquake, followed by a tsunami wreaked havoc in parts of Southeast Asia.  And now God is all of a sudden back in the headlines.

God has always been there, but like the tourists lying on beaches, not knowing what lay ahead, so it is with God sometimes.  He is always present, but we tend to easily submerge him under the surface, and out of our minds, and out of our dialogues.  Then without knowing what happened, there God is in the forefront again.  Whether God is present in our minds and civil discourse may be a matter a free choice, or a matter of not knowing where else to turn when such devastating things happen.

The brilliant French Jesuit philosopher, paleontologist and biologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Pierre Teilhard de Chardin had a great quote when he said, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”  So though God may not be always be in the forefront of our discussions, unless there is a disaster, nonetheless He is always present.

And it seems that these last few weeks have awakened our spiritual beings with the plight of humanity, begging God, and anyone and everyone for some type of answer to what has happened.

Any tragic or devastating event can raise all types of theological questions, but the most pressing seem to be the following:

The theology and conversation pertaining to this disaster, and these theological issues is broad and diverse, but to begin a dialogue and discussion on these issues there are a few good sites to visit:

Dr. Mark Roberts
Dr. Al Mohler

I hope that these sites, whether you agree with them or not, spur you on to begin to ask questions in the wake of such devastating loss.