After the devastating Oklahoma tornadoes, some were quick to use the event as 
evidence of God’s non-existence. The day after, J.M. Green at Debunking Christianity asked Why do Christians pray after disaster?
Who would want to be comforted by someone who was able to help during a crisis but stood idly by? …If you are a Christian, does something like this shake your faith in God at all? Do you feel an inner conflict about praying for the victims of a disaster in which their own prayers for protection and deliverance were unanswered? Can you truly speak of ‘miraculous’ survivals, while ignoring all those who did not survive?
Frankly, those are good questions. Of course, the conclusion that Debunking Christianity assumes is that natural disaster proves the non-existence of a benevolent, loving God. As I argued HERE, natural disaster and random human suffering could prove lots of things about the nature of the Universe. Here’s just four:
- God exists, but is evil.
- God exists, but is indifferent and morally neutral.
- God exists, but is powerless to do anything.
- God exists, but allows such calamity for another purpose
Then, on the other hand, you have those believers who are quick to attach divine judgment or retribution to such calamities. Like pastor John Piper who, within 24 hours of the event, tweeted this:
Lest you think that’s not what Piper’s inferring, consider that the day after tornadoes and storms slammed the Midwest in 2009, the prolific author and pastor claimed the tornado was a “warning” to the Lutheran denmoination against approving homosexuality. Then there was Piper’s take on the Asian tsunamia as a warning to “Repent!”
Frankly, this is one of my problems with the neo-Reformers of today and Calvinism in general.
Is the Oklahoma tornado a chance for us to repent? Indeed! In fact, waking up this morning was also a chance for me to repent. Every day we live and breath is a chance to repent. Could a natural disaster be one reason? You bet. But so could winning the lottery.
Underneath all this is a question many Christians seem reluctant to face: Does God still use natural disasters as a means of judgment? And, if so, could the Oklahoma tornado be one of them?
One cannot read the Bible and not come to the conclusion that God is the God of nature, and can use it to do His bidding. Earthquakes, floods, and famines are clearly at God’s disposal. So the issue is not whether God can and does use natural disasters, but knowing when said catastrophes are direct judgments from God. I mean, is every fire, every volcanic eruption, every typhoon a heavenly rebuke?
Complicating the issue is this — if the Chinese earthquake, Katrina, or the Asian tsunami were judgments from God, why were so many Christians affected? In the Old Testament, God spared His people from wrath (the plagues of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, Sodom and Gomorrah, etc.). Likewise, many Christian organizations existed in Haiti before the 2010 earthquake. Yet they were not unaffected by the earthquake. So why would God judge Haiti and allow so many of His children to be injured, even killed? Were they just collateral damage?
The danger in attributing natural calamities to the judgment of God is not in associating God’s judgment with said calamities, but in claiming to know what specific calamities are or are not part of that judgment. This, I think, was Pat Robertson’s problem when he claimed the Haiti had a pact with the devil and this was the Divine result. Who gave him a heavenly Bat-phone? How can he possibly know if this was God’s doing or just part of living in a fallen world? The truth is, none of us can perfectly know these things. At the least, events like the Oklahoma tornado should humble us, remind us of our own frailty, and reawaken our need for God. Not force us into making judgments, predictions, and altar calls.
But this begs the question: Does God still use natural disasters as a means of judgment? I think there’s three reasons why Christians are reluctant to answer that in the affirmative.
First — We fear that if we concede an event might be part of God’s judgment, we relinquish having to help the victims. The Bible clearly speaks about helping orphans, refugees, the homeless and hurting. But what if their suffering is due, in part, to the judgment of God? And does conceding that judgment let us off the hook? It’s a bit of a conundrum for believers, so we avoid answering in the affirmative.
Second — If we concede that an event might be part of God’s judgment, we fear that bringing assistance would be meddling. This was what prompted Sharon Stone to suggest that helping victims of the Chinese earthquake was “bad karma.” By helping victims of bad karma, we short-circuit their cycle. (Frankly, it’s also one of the things that has made American evangelicals so slow to respond to the AIDS crisis. ) However, Scripture does not put stipulations on when we should show kindness and mercy, and when we should withhold it.
Third — Christians are afraid to concede God’s use of natural disaster because of what it potentially makes God look like. I think many Christians are on a mission to rehabilitate God’s “Old Testament” image. They dislike having to concede divine judgment of any kind. It’s led to a lot of theological hogwash, like those who conclude God is a recovering practitioner of violence. But either God is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8), or He isn’t. As such, we must believe that the “Judge of all the earth” (Gen. 18:25) shall do right.
Any literate, Bible-believing Christian would have to conclude that God can still use natural disasters as a means of judgment. The important thing is where we go with that conclusion once we make it.
The thing I love most about your posts is you’re not afraid to ask the hard questions, Mike… excellent post and very thought-provoking… thank you.
Piper also tweeted, but this didn’t make the article: “My hope and prayer for Oklahoma is that the raw realism of Job’s losses will point us all to his God “compassionate and merciful.” Jam.5:11″ – My take is that you’ve misread Piper because you’ve already decided his worldview is flawed.
Also, lumping the Neo-Reformed in the same category with Robertson definitely undermines your argument with “any literate, Bible-believing Christian”.
The idea that God uses both natural and man-made disasters as instruments of His judgment is neither uniquely Reformed nor Calvinist! Charles Finney , as far from Reformed as Chris Matthews is from being a member of the Tea Party, often preached sermons admonishing his listeners to consider the judgments of God in tornadoes and other cataclysms.
My heart fully goes out to the people of Moore. I have lived through too many hurricanes to do otherwise. And I do think Piper would be wise to resist the temptation to make blanket statements in tweets that can be cherry picked as this one was. Neither Piper nor I know exactly how God intends to use what happened in Moore. Only time and perhaps eternity will tell.
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blesses be Your glorious name.
You give and take away,
But my heart will choose to say,
Blessed be Your name.
Josh, I included other quotes from Piper, and could include more, to show this perspective and response are not isolated. While I “lump” Piper in with Robertson, I also included Sharon Stone and an atheist organization, fully understanding they all share different worldviews. And for the record, I agree with much of what John Piper believes and have benefited from his teaching.
I’m actually glad you linked to the tsunami article b/c I had not read it. It was one of the most moving and sobering things I’ve read in a while. He was not, in fact, pronouncing a Robertsonian “divine judgment or retribution”, but rather crying out loudly: See God! Fear God! Love God!
*****
Piper (in the link provided): “Let our hearts be broken that God means so little to us. Grieve that he is a whipping boy to be blamed for pain, but not praised for pleasure. Lament that he makes headlines only when man mocks his power, but no headlines for ten thousand days of wrath withheld. Let us rend our hearts that we love life more than we love Jesus Christ. Let us cast ourselves on the mercy of our Maker. He offers it through the death and resurrection of his Son.
This is the point of all pleasure and all pain. Pleasure says: “God is like this, only better; don’t make an idol out of me. I only point to him.” Pain says: “What sin deserves is like this, only worse; don’t take offense at me. I am a merciful warning.””
*****
That’s beautiful and stunning and… true. It’s not the simple, petty, mean thing you make it out to be.
As for the tornado at the Lutheran conference, who knows… but the events do inspire the imagination, no?
Had you made a point, I’d likely agree with it. As it is, I’m not remotely bothered by your non-point (sort of a wordy “who knows? but don’t be scared of not knowing!). There’s just simply no need to defame someone unfairly to make a point. Piper’s tribute to God’s unfathomables awesomess and his call to us to see and savor God in all thing including catastrophe is beautiful; associating that with Robertson’s signature blend of senility and heresy (I think the recipe is 1 part senility and 2 parts heresy, but it’s changed over time) and Sharon Stone’s by-now-boring lunacy doesn’t strengthen your argument.
It belittles it.
Missing in the whole issue of Piper’s tweet is that the wind that caused the death’s of Job’s children was NOT a judgment on them or on Job. Rather, Job was righteous! God pointed out Job’s righteousness! Satan, trying to sully God’s servant, then gained permission to test him. But those acts that crushed Job were never about God punishing!
Becky
Piper’s tweet doesn’t mention judgment at all. It merely quotes a Scripture verse.
I tend to think if someone builds a house in an area where tornadoes are common, the the odds of their house being destroyed by a tornado is greater than someone in, say, New Mexico. It’s not God’s judgement, it’s weather patterns, and those of us in tornado country accept that risk when build our houses. Now, if a mile-wide tornado struck Santa Fe then it’s reasonable to start asking why God is angry.
The other thing people tend to forget is that these types of disasters are seemingly “inscreasing” because the world’s population density is increasing.
Wow, I wish there was an edit button, although “inscreasing” is an interesting word. Anyone up for a game of Balderdash?
You really do ask the tough questions. I admit I struggle with stuff like this sometimes. As a research scientist, I used to find myself in a tug-of-war between what’s God and what’s science. Is every natural disaster sent from God or is it simply weather and movement of the crust? Is He up there with a chess game in the shape of planet Earth moving pieces hither and yon, wiping one out while letting another live, all to some purpose that we humans can’t comprehend? Is every sickness and disease His work or is it normal screw-ups in biological processes? There’s no easy answers to this and rather than let myself become bogged down with questioning every little thing, I try to hold fast to His Son, what He did for us, Jesus’ teachings, and that when I die, Jesus will be waiting to answer all of my questions.
Hope he is ready for a long chat session because there will be a lot of them! 😀
If it is judgment, doesn’t God have a pattern of foretelling judgment first? And, when judgment does fall, sometimes God’s people do get hurt too. Jeremiah still went into exile. Elijah still almost starved.
But I think of Edom, God judged them for having no pity on Israel even though Israel was explicitly being judged. God’s judgment does not negate our need to help.
And I wonder if that’s not the most important part? When God’s people suffer and still call out to him and find peace or endurance through trial isn’t that glorifying even more than when everything is peachy keen? Isn’t that the point of Job? Job only loves you because you protect him? And when God’s people move to help those who are not even “their own”, doesn’t that glorify God?
And most importantly, God could stop all suffering, but then when would we get to share in God’s work by alleviating suffering? Maybe this disaster is not a rebuke, but an opportunity to share in God’s work? If suffering is itself evil, then Yeshua’s ministry was evil. Why come to Earth to suffer? So that he could bear our burdens, isn’t the natural thing to want to share others burdens? And isn’t that sharing itself a blessing?
Great perspective on this issue, J.S. Thanks for your insights.
Becky
One other point of view I don’t believe I see reflected here: that since Jesus died on the cross things have changed regarding judgement. God’s wrath was poured out on Him, so there is no need for further acts of judgement against the human race. However, the world is still fallen and broken, and stuff still happens. We make ourselves more vulnerable to “storms” when we turn away from God and step out from under His protection, but God is not sending big storms to punish or teach us. Also, I also believe in the reality of an evil force at work. Jesus himself encountered storms (and overcame them). There is no guarantee that we won’t be in the path of a storm, but there are promises of protection, comfort and deliverance when they do strike.
Jesus actually answered this question:
It seems clear to me that God wants us to turn to Him because of disasters and to repent–not because God has sent some specific judgment on the people suffering but because we all need His mercy.
As a matter of fact, I wrote on this same topic yesterday.
Becky
Good post, Mike. I believe you will find the answers you’re looking for in the book of Job.
Over time, and through great suffering, I have come to the conclusion that the most frustrating question of “Why?” is largely irrelevant and more often than not, paralyzing. In fortune and missfortune we are called to praise and honor God, and in all things be willing to allow God to transform us into the image of Christ. Regardless of our circumstances, we should be seeking to align our attitudes and actions with those of Jesus. If this is our continual focus, then any situation, whether an act of nature in a fallen world or an act of divine intention, is an opportunity to honor God, turn to him and live as Jesus did. The Master acts as he chooses, and this does not hange his servant’s role to which he has called is. Too often we agonize over questions that have little relevance for practical benefit. I pray that God’s people will rise up as a powerful force of love and service to any and all who are suffering in this world, whether their struggles are spawned from their sin or not, because this is what Jesus does for us.
Thank you!!!! Amen