Way of Love by Norman Wirzba

Author:Norman Wirzba
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2016-01-13T16:00:00+00:00

Acts of God?

IT IS NOT UNCOMMON to find coal-company operators blaming God for the misery that they produce. For example, an official speaking on behalf of the owners of the Logan County dam stated: “We’re investigating the damage which was caused by the flood, which we believe, of course, was an act of God.” All claims of responsibility for the dam’s collapse were denied by the Pittston Coal Company. God had sent down too much rain, and the dam was “simply incapable of holding the water God poured into it.”

Coal-company officials are hardly unique in claiming that disasters of this sort are “acts of God.” Insurance companies and regulatory bodies regularly chime in with a similar refrain. These claims, however, are plainly self-serving, because they have the effect of absolving officials and companies from any responsibility for the pain and damage caused by a disaster. They are also cruel, because those who could or should have worked to prevent the misery and destruction from happening now want to claim the status of fellow victims. To say that a pond rupture is “the direct, sole, and proximate result of an act of God” means that human arrogance, ignorance, or negligence had no part to play in the events that transpired.

What makes an event an “act of God”? Are tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and droughts divine acts? In a certain sense they clearly are. As the Creator of the world, God is the power at work within it, nurturing creatures into life. But God does not dictate events, because God’s love is not coercive. God, as I argued in Chapter 4, is not a puppeteer manipulating creatures and events—that would make God a Superbeing, the biggest or strongest creature on the block, controlling the many objects of the universe. God is nonetheless mysteriously present as the empowering love that creates a space for creatures to be and to develop. Divine love is hospitable, making room for creatures to exercise their freedom as they attempt to realize their God-given potential. That means creation is a place of spontaneity but also vulnerability, because the freedoms of creatures have the potential to clash or result in abuse.

It is not easy to know how to live harmoniously within this complex and diverse, but ultimately hospitable environment. We don’t often know how to exercise our freedoms responsibly or faithfully and thus in ways that promote life. Innumerable creatures and processes must interweave together for flourishing to occur, which means that we need to respect and honor the integrity of others while we attempt to work out our own lives. How shall we weave our lives closely with others without bruising or harming them?

Sometimes we don’t understand how God’s hospitality works, or we fail to appreciate that the work of divine hospitality includes dimensions of which we are unaware. When an earthquake occurs, for instance, and we witness the devastation to homes and the lives lost, we are tempted to conclude that this event is all bad, perhaps even evil.

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