GOD AND CATASTROPHES?

What you're about to read will sound very sarcastic, but I'm writing this with a sense of humor to prove a point. There's so many ideas of how God is like in the church today, and much of what you will read, you may not even have thought about, even though you've heard preachers preach it.

GOD - THE TERRORIST?

After 9/11 preachers stepped up and said that 9/11 happened because God lifted the hedge of protection due to the moral laxity and sinfulness of the Americans, so 9/11 happened because of God. While other believe 9/11 was a terror attack. Never have I read in the bible that God is a terrorist, but to my surprise people believe this kind of stuff just because they heard someone preach on it. Never have they even gave it a thought but just heard a sermon once and believed without questioning. This kind of doctrine becomes ammunition for atheists that wants to mock God.

GOD - THE MURDERER?

Then when hurricane Katrina came, again preachers spoke up and said that this was God’s judgement over the rebellious sinful people. Isn’t that sweet of the preachers to blame people and tell them how bad they are after having suffered a hurricane? Some preachers even said that the hurricane was God’s judgement because of the government, but just follow the logic here, if God meant to hit the white house, didn’t he miss the white house with some miles? Maybe God’s judgement accidentally hit another place, but it was meant to hit the white house? Not too long ago, we went to Haiti and Haiti has suffered a brutal earthquake as we all know. Unfortunately some preachers say that this earthquake was sent from God because Haiti made a pact with the devil, but let me caution you, no one can make a pact that will supersede the will of other people. The earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof. To say that God judged Haiti because some people made a deal with the devil, is like saying that God will judge you because someone in your neighborhood sinned? Or let’s say your neighbor is buying a brand new car, and the car lot sends you the bill and you have to pay for it, that doesn’t make sense does it? Or let's say your watching a football game and you're praying to God that your favorite team will win the game. While someone else is praying that his team will win instead, who will God answer? The same with Haiti, would God send judgement on thousands of people because some people wanted to make a pact with the devil? Why would other people have to suffer? Did God send the earthquake or was it just a tectonic plate that moved? Christians are saying that the earthquake that struck Haiti was God’s punishment over the nation, but at the same time they are sending help and missionaries to Haiti. So God is punishing them, and then the Christians are going to help the Haitians from God’s punishment, so the Christians are saving the Haitians from their God? It’s like telling a sick person that it was God that gave him or her the sickness, and then give him medicine. Makes sense doesn’t it? Are we saving people from God, or is God a savior himself? Are we trying to save the world from a destroying God? Or is God the savior, and we are the messengers of his salvation? Do we cooperate with a loving God or do we work against a hateful God?

GOD - THE EVIL TEACHER?

Jesus said: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” If you understand what Jesus said here, it’s because you can relate to it. If you as a parent love your child, you will also give good gifts to your child, even if your evil. Maybe you ask the question now “Well brother Jakob, if you love your child don’t you also correct your child?” Of course you do, the bible says “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it”. So also the Lord correct whom he loves, you’re absolutely right. God chastens us, but what has God’s correction to do with catastrophes? Does God need to kill his people to teach them a lesson? Do you need to kill your child to teach him a lesson? So where then, does this idea come from that God sends catastrophes here and there to teach us a lesson? Let’s say your son hit an innocent child in school, and the teachers called you and told you what had happened in school. Of course it would upset you as a parent, and my question is: What would you do as a parent? Would you tell your son “Come here boy, I’m going to kill you. And when you’re dead, I hope you’ve learned something and that you will never do it again”. How can you learn a lesson if your dead? I know it sounds crazy, but yet people think that God is that way. Is God like that? Is he unfair? Is God a bully that is always picking on people? We quote “for God so loved the world”, maybe we should start to say “for God so hated the world”? We sing the songs “amazing grace” and “your love never fails” but maybe we should start to sing “amazing rudeness” and “your condemnation never fails”?