Reacting to Disasters
Whenever there is a disaster in the world, we find ourselves both troubled by the suffering and loss of life involved and by the questions asked about why God allows such things to happen.
There are no ‘easy’ answers, as Job was to discover as he struggled with the catastrophes that overtook him and his family. Of course his friends were convinced that he was being deliberately punished by God. But their understanding was discredited by God himself, who declared they had “not spoken of me what is right” (Job 42:7).
Many years later, the Lord Jesus Christ was asked about the massacre of Galileans in Jerusalem by Roman soldiers. The case of the Tower of Siloam, also in Jerusalem, was also fresh in their minds. It had collapsed and killed eighteen people. Jesus asks the rhetorical question: “Do you think that [the people who suffered] were worse sinners than all other men?” He provides the answer: “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:1-5).
> > > Click to read the full article
Also of interest: Read: Haïti: did God cause the earthquake?
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2013 update:
Whenever there is a disaster in the world, we find ourselves both troubled by the suffering and loss of life involved and by the questions asked about why God allows such things to happen. There are no ‘easy’ answers, as Job was to discover as he struggled with the catastrophes that overtook him and his family. Of course his friends were convinced that he was being deliberately punished by God. But their understanding was discredited by God himself, who declared they had “not spoken of me what is right” (Job 42:7).
Many years later, the Lord Jesus Christ was asked about the massacre of Galileans in Jerusalem by Roman soldiers. The case of the Tower of Siloam, also in Jerusalem, was also fresh in their minds. It had collapsed and killed eighteen people. Jesus asks the rhetorical question: “Do you think that [the people who suffered] were worse sinners than all other men?” He provides the answer: “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:1-5).
> > > Click to read the full article
Also of interest: Read: Haïti: did God cause the earthquake?
+++
2013 update:
