Hurricanes, Horrible Accidents, and the Heart of God
Beyond moral evil, consider those “evils” wrought by no apparent fault of the victim, such as hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes, and other violent atmospheric churning that cause great human suffering, injury, and death. Why do such events occur to the disabling or demise of seemingly innocent people?
This is a theological question, not a scientific one, and, therefore, requires a theological answer. In the case of what is often called "natural evil," theology is uniquely equipped to enable our understanding in a way that science is not. Science can only answer how these things happen. Theology addresses the “why” question, which is the question most people ask in times of such tragedy. Let’s begin our investigation in Eden, the ancient place where God began his dealings with mankind.
What kind of world did God create? Many who point to Eden as the model environment assume that Eden was a place of no evil and no death. However, a close look at Genesis and other texts in the Bible suggests an alternative perspective. God does not say that there was no death or evil in Eden, and the very nature of that ancient place makes it likely that these were actually present. Certainly plants had to die, since they were eaten and digested. Furthermore, animals must have died as well, since some life spans were by nature short (Was a cockroach intended to live eternally in Eden?), and some would have been victims of carnivores (Ps 104:21; Job 38:39-41). Otherwise how is it that Adam and Eve knew what death was? In addition, Lucifer, the dark lord himself, was present in Eden in the guise of a serpent.
Furthermore, today we understand that events such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornadoes are critical to the maintenance of our planet's environmental and atmospheric integrity. Certainly this also was the case prior to Adam's and Eve’s moral failure. There is abundant scientific evidence that the environmental and atmospheric needs of our planet were not much different then than they are now. The Laws of Thermodynamics must have been in place even prior to the creation of man for the earth to exist, and it is instructive that catastrophic atmospheric and geodynamic events have historically been called “Acts of God.”
God said that Eden was "good," that is, it was as he intended it to be in order to work out his higher purposes. God had to create a planet fit for death as well as life to accomplish his redemptive plan, which featured a sacrificial death. So it seems as correct to say that the effects of the Fall appear before Adam and Eve rebelled as it is to say that the effects of the atonement appear before Christ’s death. Since God knew that man would fall, he built the effects of the Fall into nature early (Rom 8:20-21). What we learn from the Genesis account is that these effects were not applied to Adam and Eve, and hence all mankind, until they disobeyed God's primal command.
As we move into the New Testament, we find further clues as to God’s intent in allowing what some call "gratuitous evil," that is, evil that seems to make no sense. In John 9, Jesus offers us a glimpse of the higher purpose behind such events. Encountering a man born blind, Jesus offers no other reason for this calamity than “that the works of God might be displayed in him." Jesus then heals him, resulting in the man’s subsequent belief in Jesus, and hence his salvation, as well as his bold and powerful public witness. A skeptic might ask why this man had to suffer all his life. Perhaps God knew the greater good that would be achieved as a result. Perhaps, as it has been said, “God permits what he hates in order to achieve what he loves.” As paradoxical as this statement seems, it captures a certain mystery regarding the workings of God the precise purposes of which will likely always elude us. It is this mystery that shakes our stubborn self-reliance and makes room for faith.
In Luke 13:1-9, Jesus argues that eighteen persons who died in a terrible accident were no worse sinners than the rest of us. One of the Bible's primary themes is that all are sinners who deserve cosmic capital punishment. If this is so, perhaps we need to ask a different question: “Why is anyone still alive?” The Bible answers that we are the beneficiaries of God’s great patience and grace, and, yes, his goodness. He sends rain upon the wicked as well as the righteous, and it is not his desire that anyone should perish eternally. So perhaps seemingly “gratuitous” evil is really the fertilizer on the temporal fig tree that induces it to bear eternal fruit. It constrains us to cry out to God for mercy and protection and affirms our intuition that this can't be all that there is.
This intuition is correct, as the Scriptures inform us that this world is not permanent. One of my former professors asserted that our transient world is as close to hell as a Christian believer will ever come and as close to heaven as an unrepentant sinner will ever come. It is the staging area for the battle between the armies of Aslan and the legions of the dark lord. But God is firmly in control (Job 42:11; Is 45:6-7), and the end of the story has already been written: God wins and creates a new heaven and a new earth fit for the eternal flourishing of righteousness, justice, and peace, a place where "He will wipe away every tear...and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (Rev 21:4).
Hence, God allows horrible things to happen in this impermanent world for purposes higher than we can fully grasp. Nonetheless, we know that he is good because he tells us so in his scripted Word and he backs it up with the incarnate Word, who entered this "veil of tears" and suffered on the cross to purchase eternal redemption for all who seek refuge in him (Ps 91:9-10). God has the “fireman” problem. He looks like a monster to a child in a fire whom he is trying to rescue. But I need to get a hold of his heart. Once I have done that, faith will affirm that he is not only the answer to all my questions, but also that "he only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress" (Ps 62:2a).
[The thoughts and illustrations in this article were inspired by a lecture by Professor John A. Bloom at Biola University, July, 2006.]
Blessings,
Arnie Gentile
This is a theological question, not a scientific one, and, therefore, requires a theological answer. In the case of what is often called "natural evil," theology is uniquely equipped to enable our understanding in a way that science is not. Science can only answer how these things happen. Theology addresses the “why” question, which is the question most people ask in times of such tragedy. Let’s begin our investigation in Eden, the ancient place where God began his dealings with mankind.
What kind of world did God create? Many who point to Eden as the model environment assume that Eden was a place of no evil and no death. However, a close look at Genesis and other texts in the Bible suggests an alternative perspective. God does not say that there was no death or evil in Eden, and the very nature of that ancient place makes it likely that these were actually present. Certainly plants had to die, since they were eaten and digested. Furthermore, animals must have died as well, since some life spans were by nature short (Was a cockroach intended to live eternally in Eden?), and some would have been victims of carnivores (Ps 104:21; Job 38:39-41). Otherwise how is it that Adam and Eve knew what death was? In addition, Lucifer, the dark lord himself, was present in Eden in the guise of a serpent.
Furthermore, today we understand that events such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornadoes are critical to the maintenance of our planet's environmental and atmospheric integrity. Certainly this also was the case prior to Adam's and Eve’s moral failure. There is abundant scientific evidence that the environmental and atmospheric needs of our planet were not much different then than they are now. The Laws of Thermodynamics must have been in place even prior to the creation of man for the earth to exist, and it is instructive that catastrophic atmospheric and geodynamic events have historically been called “Acts of God.”
God said that Eden was "good," that is, it was as he intended it to be in order to work out his higher purposes. God had to create a planet fit for death as well as life to accomplish his redemptive plan, which featured a sacrificial death. So it seems as correct to say that the effects of the Fall appear before Adam and Eve rebelled as it is to say that the effects of the atonement appear before Christ’s death. Since God knew that man would fall, he built the effects of the Fall into nature early (Rom 8:20-21). What we learn from the Genesis account is that these effects were not applied to Adam and Eve, and hence all mankind, until they disobeyed God's primal command.
As we move into the New Testament, we find further clues as to God’s intent in allowing what some call "gratuitous evil," that is, evil that seems to make no sense. In John 9, Jesus offers us a glimpse of the higher purpose behind such events. Encountering a man born blind, Jesus offers no other reason for this calamity than “that the works of God might be displayed in him." Jesus then heals him, resulting in the man’s subsequent belief in Jesus, and hence his salvation, as well as his bold and powerful public witness. A skeptic might ask why this man had to suffer all his life. Perhaps God knew the greater good that would be achieved as a result. Perhaps, as it has been said, “God permits what he hates in order to achieve what he loves.” As paradoxical as this statement seems, it captures a certain mystery regarding the workings of God the precise purposes of which will likely always elude us. It is this mystery that shakes our stubborn self-reliance and makes room for faith.
In Luke 13:1-9, Jesus argues that eighteen persons who died in a terrible accident were no worse sinners than the rest of us. One of the Bible's primary themes is that all are sinners who deserve cosmic capital punishment. If this is so, perhaps we need to ask a different question: “Why is anyone still alive?” The Bible answers that we are the beneficiaries of God’s great patience and grace, and, yes, his goodness. He sends rain upon the wicked as well as the righteous, and it is not his desire that anyone should perish eternally. So perhaps seemingly “gratuitous” evil is really the fertilizer on the temporal fig tree that induces it to bear eternal fruit. It constrains us to cry out to God for mercy and protection and affirms our intuition that this can't be all that there is.
This intuition is correct, as the Scriptures inform us that this world is not permanent. One of my former professors asserted that our transient world is as close to hell as a Christian believer will ever come and as close to heaven as an unrepentant sinner will ever come. It is the staging area for the battle between the armies of Aslan and the legions of the dark lord. But God is firmly in control (Job 42:11; Is 45:6-7), and the end of the story has already been written: God wins and creates a new heaven and a new earth fit for the eternal flourishing of righteousness, justice, and peace, a place where "He will wipe away every tear...and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (Rev 21:4).
Hence, God allows horrible things to happen in this impermanent world for purposes higher than we can fully grasp. Nonetheless, we know that he is good because he tells us so in his scripted Word and he backs it up with the incarnate Word, who entered this "veil of tears" and suffered on the cross to purchase eternal redemption for all who seek refuge in him (Ps 91:9-10). God has the “fireman” problem. He looks like a monster to a child in a fire whom he is trying to rescue. But I need to get a hold of his heart. Once I have done that, faith will affirm that he is not only the answer to all my questions, but also that "he only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress" (Ps 62:2a).
[The thoughts and illustrations in this article were inspired by a lecture by Professor John A. Bloom at Biola University, July, 2006.]
Blessings,
Arnie Gentile
Posted by Arnie Gentile at 2/6/2010 4:49 PM 
Categories: The Problem of Evil
Tags: Faith and Reason Evil Sin Suffering Christian Apologetics
Categories: The Problem of Evil
Tags: Faith and Reason Evil Sin Suffering Christian Apologetics
I'm not sure how you can say that death was present before Adam & Eve sinned. The scriptures clearly say that death came about as a result of sin. Secondly, the Scriptures say that life is in the blood. Since plants don't have blood, who says they are alive as the Bible defines life?
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Thanks for your comments, Greg. You raise a very good question. Let’s reason together. It is true that human death came as the result of sin. Romans 5:12 confirms this, asserting that “sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned….” This text is clearly relating human death to sin. Only men die as a result of sin. Plants and animals do not sin, they just die and always have, even before the Fall. There is no evidence in Scripture of which I am aware that compels us to believe otherwise.
In addition, believing that plants and animals did not die before the Fall requires us to consider some odd scenarios. For instance, if there was no death before the Fall, then God would have had to arbitrarily recreate the digestive systems of certain animals after the Fall so that they could become carnivores, since they could not have eaten other animals before the Fall. Ps 104:21 and Job 38:39-41 seem to suggest otherwise, and both of these texts appear within the context of poetic creation accounts that extol God‘s creative activity in the beginning.
Regarding life being in the blood, in Lev 17:11, God asserts, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.” So the only thing we may infer from this text is that blood sustains “flesh.” But plants are not flesh. The kind of reasoning that you are proposing would go something like this: The Bible says that blood sustains flesh; Plants have no blood; Therefore, according to the Bible, plants are not alive. I believe that we can immediately see that the conclusion does not follow from the two premises. It would seem quite apparent from both Scripture and science that plants live and die, and there is no special way in which the Bible defines natural life that I can discern which would deny plants their status as living things. They are living things, but, unlike animals, they are sustained by something other than blood.
I appreciate your participation, Greg. You are always welcome!
Blessings,
Arnie
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This is an interesting article, I have never contemplated this idea of death in the plant and animal kingdoms but will give it some thought. Thank you for your ideas!
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Thanks for your comment, Scott. It is something that I began contemplating about four years ago, but it makes a lot of sense to me. I would be interested in any further thoughts or questions you might have.
Blessings,
Arnie Gentile
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I liked your last statement under part 8. Yes, we need to, as a government, do what our forefathers saw and return to our beliefs in a true God.
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Thanks for your comment, Miriam. I appreciate your participation.
Arnie
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