Last night, I tossed and turned. Haiti was on my mind.
Estimates are that 110,000 Haitians died in the recent earthquake. News reports cited locations that my family frequented while living there briefly as missionaries, like our supermarket.
Some stories wrenched my gut. Eleven year old Anaika Saint-Louis was a happy girl, sang in her church choir, and told anyone who would listen that someday, she would be a lawyer. When the quake hit, she was trapped under tons of concrete. For three days, she prayed desperately to God to save her. After heroic efforts, workers freed her, but at the cost of an amputated leg. She died en route to specialized medical treatment, three hours away. Her mom weeps, and we weep with her.
Christians know the problem all too well.
1. If God is in control, and
2. If God is good and loves us, then...
3. Why does He permit such terrible tragedies?
Atheists have a ready answer, and they've been vocal. In short - for them - God doesn't exist, and the random cruelty of natural disasters is eloquent proof that we're on our own. Yet secular humanism is like drinking salt water. It only makes you thirstier. Even in France, where a godless humanism has dominated for centuries, a hunger for the supernatural lingers never far below the surface. Likewise, a hundred years of communism in Russia couldn't kill belief in God. As for Haiti, the earthquake sparked all-night prayer meetings in the streets. More than ever, people are turning to God, hardly the reaction one would expect. In short, atheism satisfies only a handful of human beings. Whether poor or rich, we seem designed to believe in something bigger than ourselves.
A second answer, from Christians, is that the earthquake is a "test of faith”. I'm hesitant to use that template to interpret catastrophes on this scale. Getting laid off from a job, or having an illness from which I recover, these are life events that draw me closer to God and increase my reliance upon Him. But how exactly is a dead earthquake victim's faith strengthened? Am I willing to say that God would allow another to die for the sole purpose of increasing my reliance upon Him? That's a pretty egocentric view of life.
A third answer is to simply re-affirm that "God is Sovereign." Closely akin to this is an appeal to the unknowable, like the theology book with a chapter entitled "the mystery of evil." Let's be honest, "mystery" is not an explanation; it's a dodge. It cuts off discussion before it starts. It's a back-handed way of scolding us for our doubts. To call God "Sovereign" is only the beginning of an answer. At very least we need to determine the exact nature of that Sovereignty. This includes an apparent refusal on God's part in most situations to intervene in the workings of nature. I might have wished that God would have suspended gravity when playing basketball I came crashing down on my leg and dislocated my left knee cap. On the other hand, the same force that caused me injury keeps us all on the ground and prevents us from floating to our death in the stratosphere.
Another response is what I call "blame shifting." It's not God's fault, it's ours. There can be no question that many in Haiti died because construction was flimsy. But a 7.0 earthquake would test even the best of buildings. Say we chalk 75% of the deaths up to poorly built structures, that still leaves 25% - around 30,000 - who perished through no fault of their own. Blame-shifting might take you half-way around the track, but doesn't get you across the finish line.
Dennis Bratcher provides insight that may sound strange to the Christian ear, but has the merit of taking our experiences seriously. In a nutshell, God the Creator has built randomness into the Creation.
Is it possible for God to be both the Designer/Creator of this world, and also to have left "wiggle room" for random events? I believe it is. In the Manual, there is an affirmation of God as “Sovereign of the universe.” Yet, we acknowledge that there are games of chance, such as the lottery. One belief does not negate the other. Math students toss coins and learn something about randomness as related to probability. Computer programmers design games that build randomness into the algorithms -- or is that merely a mirage? Design and randomness are not mutually exclusive.
Having acknowledged randomness, that sometimes things “just happen,” Bratcher concludes:
“And yet, I will never abandon the idea that God works in marvelous ways in our world, daily! The Bible never teaches that God is in total personal control of everything that happens in the world. That is our desire and, I think, an expression of our own sinful need to control. But it is simply not what we know about God. Rather, the biblical promise is that whatever happens in the world, God can take that and work it for good (Rom 8:28). That is the basis of our faith and hope and ability to cope with the world. There is nothing that is beyond God's power to redeem and use for his purposes.”
Jesus said: “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). I’m thankful that even in the arbitrariness of an earthquake, we can be instruments in the hands of the Lord, bringing hope in practical ways to those who are hurting. In a random world, we can be intentional. God can help us systematically reach out in the name of Jesus. What a privilege. What a responsibility.
Editor's note: Dr. Greg Crofford is the director of the Institut Théologique Nazaréen which is responsible for training pastors in French speaking Africa and the English speaking countries of West Africa. He was for a short time the director of the Haiti Bible College in Port-au-Prince.