following a major earthquake in a third world country. In a 2000 word article to be published in a church magazine and/or church website

Wootten R CWTH4004 Assign 2

It is the Sunday Morning following a major earthquake in a third world country. In a 2000 word article to be published in a church magazine and/or church website, demonstrate the ways you would use this occasion to help people reflect theologically on this event.

Rather than make up an earthquake, in a random country, I have chosen to focus my essay on the 2015 Nepal earthquake.

On 25^th April 2015, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Nepal killing more than 8000 people leaving thousands homeless. This was Nepal’s worst natural disaster since 1934. 98% of all homes in hillside villages were destroyed and urban areas also experienced a large loss of life and infrastructure.

This article is written in the context of my own church based in a rural location, which has a large Nepalese community. Although the earthquake happened in 2015, I have written the article as if it had recently happened.

Article

Nepal is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world, one-third of its population living in poverty. It has few natural resources or infrastructure. More than 80% of the population is rural based.

The recent earthquake in Nepal has prompted this article as it was felt that we, as a church, need to respond to this crisis and try to make sense of the disaster both pastorally and theologically. It is hoped that this article will go some way to answer some of the questions that people have.

The earthquake to hit Nepal has killed more than 8000 people and left many more thousands homeless and exposed. This is the worst natural disaster to hit Nepal since 1934. Parts of the country have had 98% of their homes destroyed.

We have a large Nepalese presence in our community, many of whom will be directly affected by what has happened. As compassionate human beings, we need to make some sense of this and we will all feel the need to have some questions answered. The biggest question will be “Why?”. Why has God allowed this to happen? Why would a compassionate God allow this to happen to an already deprived country? Another question may be ‘Where is God in all of this?’.

If we look to scripture, we can instantly see that Jesus tried to prepare his disciples for the suffering ahead - Mark (24:7) and Luke (21:11) ‘For Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.” Jesus didn’t exactly predict particular world events, but he knew there world be difficult times and we needed to be prepared.

Also, in scripture, we find references to suffering such as Acts 25:23. Paul had been languishing in Prison for two years without hope of trial or freedom, but rather than feel sorry for himself, Paul saw this as an opportunity to preach the Gospel to a new audience. We must look to find the point of this suffering and ask “what opportunity has God presented to us in this situation?”

The question “Why?” has vexed and taxed many theologians throughout history. They have tried to understand and provide some explanation for evil and suffering. To try to understand, it is worth noting that we, in theological discussions, have topics like Natural Evil/Suffering and Moral Evil/Suffering. Natural suffering would be an earthquake, flood, pandemic or things we would attribute to an Act of God. Whereas Moral suffering would be evil or suffering brought about by humankind, for example the Holocaust, Ethnic Cleansing in Serbia, Wars and other manmade disasters. Aberfan is a prime example of this. People were asking “Why did God allow this to happen?” The local Minister, in an interview on BBC television, answered by pointing out that it wasn’t God who put the Slag waste on the mountain. ‘Blame for the disaster rests upon the National Coal Board’. [1]

The Old Testament tells us that God punished the people of earth - for example in Genesis 6:12 -the story of Noah. God saw how corrupt the world had become and had decided to destroy it. However, the New Testament tells us that in Jesus our sins are redeemed, and God sent his only Son as a sacrifice. Therefore, we can confidently say that earthquake is a natural disaster and is not a punishment from God for sins committed.

It is often asked “Where is God in all of this?” - and the answer is simply that we do not know. In this difficult time, it is easy to blame God or shake our faith in God but even Jesus’s faith was tested on the cross when he cried out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me”( Matthew 27:46,) This also appears in Psalm 22. At this time, Jesus was feeling that he was distanced from God or that He had abandoned Jesus. At times like this, or times when we experience great suffering, it is easy to lose faith and ask “Where is God? Why does God not intervene?” Interestingly, as science progresses and more and more is known about the reasons for natural disaster, and much work is being developed to give people warning of an impending disaster, it has been noted how animals seem able to predict an impending event minutes or even hours before the disaster [2]. Should we ask if this is God’s way of letting us know what is happening and that He is always there – always with us?

There is a school of thought called Deism. Deism emerged from the enlightenment movement. The proponents of Deism believe that a supreme being (or God) created the Universe. However, Deism also believes that God then withdrew and has had no further interaction with the Universe. This would be a convenient way to explain “Where is God in this?” and “Why does God allow this?” Basically, for some, it would be attractive to believe that God has set things in motion and now sits back to let what happens, happen. However, this does not explain the coming of Jesus, nor of His suffering to redeem our sins. We, as Anglicans, believe in a loving God. We trust Scripture as the Word of God. John 3:16 states ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’ Giving his only son as a sacrifice is not the actions of an unloving or uncaring God. This is the perfect expression of love for us.

It is difficult to understand the suffering that is currently going on in Nepal and it is difficult to come to terms with suffering in general. As Christians we believe that God is Omnipotent – All powerful, God is Omniscient - All knowing and God is Omnibenevolent – All Loving. At times like this, there is often an argument focused on the existence of God. It centres around ‘If God exists, why or how does God allow suffering in the world?’ - or ‘If God is all Powerful, why does he not stop suffering?’ - or perhaps  a statement like ‘God isn’t all powerful and unable to stop suffering!’ In some schools of thought, it is said that God can stop evil and suffering but chooses not to. These arguments, if proven true, bring in to question God’s omnipotence, omniscience and omnibenevolence.  Atheists would use this to demonstrate that God does not exist at all.

As Christians, we are often challenged during difficult times by people asking “If there is a God, why does He allow evil to exist?”. In the Irenaean theodicy (Theodicy is a response to the problem of evil), Irenaeus (a Greek cleric 140-202AD who guided the early Christian communities of southern France) developed a response to these arguments; he used a biblical reference, specifically Jonah, to explain that suffering was sometimes necessary to bring about a greater good. Jonah was a fairly minor prophet  circa 780BC. He only had one job - to warn the people of Nineveh to mend their ways. However, he ran and headed for Tarshish, and after a fashion was swallowed by a large fish, or whale. During his three days in the belly of the whale,  he suffered, and in his distress, he cried out to God  (Jonah 2:2.) Jonah’s suffering was necessary for God’s plan and Nineveh to be saved. This is a good illustration of how suffering can be necessary. An example from popular fiction would be the 1982 Star Trek Film “The Wrath of Khan”. Mr. Spock, in a moment of self-sacrifice, says “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” [3] - an example of necessary suffering in contemporary fiction. In Society today, we often hear the phrase “necessary evil”. This refers to things like a parent taking their child to the dentist, or having a vaccination. There is a limited suffering for the child but the greater good is for the child’s future wellbeing.

It is not possible to draw a direct link from going to the dentist to thousands of people dying in an earthquake. That would be disrespectful to those currently suffering and to those who have lost loved ones and their homes. We cannot know God’s plan within this tragedy, but we must explore our faith and know that there is a point to this suffering. One such explanation is that experiencing suffering allows us to develop positive qualities such as compassion and sympathy. John Hick, the English philosopher, developed a line of thinking called the Soul-Making Theodicy. Much of John Hick’s work states that God allows evil to exist in order to allow humans to develop towards maturity, emotionally. For example, D.Z Philips writes (writes on John Hick’s soul-making theodicy) humanity is ‘imperfect and immature’ and the suffering in the world is there to allow us to develop [4].

We are well versed in the teaching that Jesus died for our sins. Therefore, we cannot believe that this earthquake is some sort of punishment for sins.

In John 14:6 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me, we are also taught that the only way to heaven is through Jesus. The issue here is that many of those who have died in Nepal will not be Christian and perhaps some of those may have never been exposed to the teachings of Jesus, does this mean that they will not find God, or Heaven? If this is the case then we are back to a God that lacks compassion and that is taking scripture literally. A more progressive stance would be to think that Jesus saved all of humanity through his sacrifice and that similar disasters have occurred in Christian Countries too. The good that comes from it is the rush to help. The outpouring of support for Nepal from all over the World shows us that people of all religions can respond in the way that Jesus taught us.

To conclude, this article has looked at a number of things. Questions such as “ why has God allowed such a thing to happen?” explored the possible theories around evil and suffering. One of the main themes is that God allows evil and suffering to exist in order that humanity can develop higher order emotions such as sympathy and compassion. I believe that God values these qualities so much that he allows evil and suffering to exist. Without evil or suffering, we would not practice these qualities. We would not respond as Jesus would want us to respond.  Earth would be a poorer place, and evil and suffering may then develop by default.

In reality, we cannot know God’s plan for us and for the World. We must have faith in the teachings of Jesus and interpretation of the Bible.  We cannot fathom the type of Being that created the Universe from nothing. We cannot hope to understand a Being that existed before time itself.  All of us will suffer in this life to some degree and someone’s suffering may seem trivial to one person but an unbearable burden to another. Humankind has a unique ability to overcome and push on but this is through the Grace of God. For a world without God is a world without any explanation. What we can draw from this disaster is a collective compassion. We can pull together as a Community and help those in need, and these are admirable qualities. Qualities we can only develop and demonstrate in someone’s time of need. Jesus was the very embodiment of compassion. We can only hope to live up to that role model.

References

[1] HM Government, The Tribunal of inquiry, Nuffield College, Oxford University, https://www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/politics/aberfan/tri.htm [accessed 10/12/2018]

[2] Kirschvink, Joseph L. (2000). Earthquake Prediction by Animals: Evolution and Sensory Perception, Bull. Seism. Soc. Am., 90, pp. 312-323.

[3] Star Trek II, The Wrath of Khan, The Original Film Franchise (1982) Paramount Pictures

[4] D.Z. Philips on God and Evil, Religious Studies, posted on www.johnhick.org.uk/article18.html (accessed 6th Dec 2018)