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02/03/2003 Entry: "God's will?"
When disaster strikes, most of us are quick to ask, "Why?" The question is not so much about physics or sequences of events, but is tied into our deeply held need to find order and purpose in the events around us. Why now? Why here? What have we done to deserve this? Even as scientists and engineers begin the monumental task of determining the cause of Columbia's tragic loss, this bigger question hangs over us all.Some have a clear answer already. In Bagdhad, those who speak for Saddam have been quick to see this event as a clear sign of God's displeasure with the USA:
"God wants to show that his might is greater than the Americans. They have encroached on our country. God is avenging us,"I suppose in the context of what appears to be an inevitable war such remarks are understandable. People of faith are often quick to point to the will of God when it suits them. Tragedy and misfortune are, and always have been, taken as signs of God's displeasure. Christians and Muslims throughout history have not hesitated to point to events and exclaim, "The hand of God!"How legitimate are such exclaimations? It's tempting to say something like, "It's right when I do it, wrong when it's the other guy." I, after all, have God on my side. (I know; he told me)Jesus was once questioned about a sudden disaster. When the Tower of Siloam collapsed killing 18 people, there were some it seems who saw it as a sign of God's judgement. Jesus, though, will not let such a narrow interpretation stand. We are not entitled, whether we're in Bagdhad, Washington or anywhere else to claim to know the Almighty's mind so intimately. But such events do sound a warning to everyone - the call to repentance comes to all and to each, because none can know what lies around the corner.The tragedy of sudden death - whether public and spectacular like Columbia, or neglected and forgotten like the train crash in Zimbabwe - should unite us in common humanity. The fact that it does not is an indictment on us all.
