Hurricanes and Theodicy

The images of the devastation Hurricane Harvey has had on the people of Texas have been truly difficult to see. People have been killed, their property destroyed, and their lives ruined. Now, as the flood waters are beginning to recede another hurricane is on the horizon and close friends in Florida are fleeing their homes. Many people have asked where God is in all this. Lately I have read more than one article from a prominent Christian leader asserting that God is doing this to punish America for one thing or another. However, this type of thinking is not only poor theology, it is also damaging to the spread of the Gospel, and a crime against common sense.

When we try to understand these types of mega disasters or even the smaller scale disasters that just impact our own lives and families, we need to remember two things. The first is that we live in a fallen world and are subject to its forces; and the second is the theological construct of Theodicy.

The first one is a bit easier to understand. Simply put, the world we live in is not what God created. As the story goes, God created a beautiful garden where there was no death and loss. However, because of our free will and sin, the world was cursed and now there are things like floods and hurricanes and sickness and death. Through all this however, God is seeking to put the world right. God is doing this all the time. One of the main actions God has taken was sending Jesus to live, die, and rise to new life for us. But nevertheless, we still live in that fallen world and are subject to its fallen reality. Jesus even says that God, “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45)

This brings us to the concept of Theodicy. The thinking here is that God does not purpose or intend evil. “For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone.” (Lamentations 3:33) Rather, all of us act and live within the permissive will of God. That is, God does permit evil and terrible things but he does allow them to happen. However, allowing something to happen is very different that causing or purposing it.

What this means is that God loves us so much that he gives us the free will to love him in return. However, that free will comes with the same price it did way back in the Garden of Eden. That price is the consequence of our actions when we exercise our free will in ways that are harmful to us. After all if we are to be truly free to love and show kindness and humility, we have to be truly free to hate and to do evil. It is the price of our freedom and it means that sometimes people will exercise their free will in ways that we loath. It is why sometimes bad things happen to good people.

The people whose lives have been devastated by Hurricane Harvey and the people whose lives will be devastated by Hurricane Irma, are therefore no more good or bad than anyone else. God loves them as much as he loves any of us. God is also not seeking to punish America for anything; rather God is always working to bring good out of evil. God is always working out his will for us gently and lovingly, respecting our free will and always giving us the chance to love him in return. 

May God’s love and grace therefore be poured out on the people in the path of these storms. When the rain stops and the sky clears may they know they are loved and not despair. May they feel the loving presence of God and know “that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)