Archbishop of Canterbury Misquoted In Comments On tsunami and Faith
Today the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowen Williams, wrote a very thoughtful opinion piece for The Daily Telegraph (registration required). His concern is for people whose faith in God may have been shaken by the unfolding tsunami disaster in South Asia. In the article he says that it is normal, perhaps necessary, for people to question the existence of God at a time such as this. One's beliefs, however, need not be shaken if, through practice, they "have imposed themselves on the shape of a life and the habits of a heart."
According to the Archbishop, the appropriate response to such a tragedy is not to ask the big philosophical/theological questions but to "connect" with the humanity of those who are in the midst of suffering.
"The very thing that lies closest to the heart of a religious way of life in the world, the passion about the value of each and every life, the passion that makes religious people so obstinate and inconvenient when society discusses abortion and euthanasia...this is also just what makes human disaster so appalling, so much of a challenge to the feelings."
"That is also why the reaction of faith is or should be always one of passionate engagement with the lives that are left."
Unfortunately, the Telegraph's news article on the Archbishop's opinion piece (and subsequent articles elsewhere which are drawing from it) have represented it as a personal confession of his own doubt about God's existence.
The headline for the opinion piece reads, "Of Course This Makes Us Doubt God's Existence." I wonder if this title was written by the Archbishop or the opinion page editor...especially since neither the phrase itself nor the word "doubt" appear in the text.
By the time the article about the opinion piece appears, that suspect headline has morphed into, "Archbishop of Canterbury Admits: This Makes Me Doubt the Existence of God." Again, a sentiment which never appears in his opinion piece.
Here again is another example of the media twisting words of faith, compassion, strength and action into words of doubt and the essential fragility of faith itself. The excerpts quoted from the Archbishop's article are clearly taken out of context to provide the most insipid impression as possible.
It is a shame that this cheap shot has lessened the impact of what was otherwise a fine statement by a Christian leader.
Where I do digress from the Archbishop's statements, however, concerns his belief that "the traditional answers will only get us so far" in bringing either comfort or in coming to some understanding of the interplay of God's love and human suffering and pain.
My Calvinist reading of scripture assures me that nothing happens unless God either wills it to happen or allows it to happen. Furthermore, love, by its very nature, cannot command others to love in return. Love requires the freedom to accept and return that love or to reject it, ignore it or rebel against it.
Accordingly, some things happen because of human sin and rebellion against God's clearly revealed nature and will.
Others, because God has caused or allowed them to happen for some greater purpose.
Still others occur for no purposeful reason at all, such as the recent tsunami. In this situation, the very natural (and divinely created) processes that enable life to exist on this planet have produced a demonstration of their energy and power. Earthquakes (and resulting tsunamis), tornados, hurricanes, lightning strikes, volcanic eruptions and flooding are all necessary for the world to produce and sustain life. Without them the earth would be a chemical wasteland like the rest of the universe. In this sense we see God's providential grace for the greater good revealed in such events even though there may not be any specific purpose in the particular event itself.
Personally, I find it comforting to understand that God did not necessarily desire or cause this particular earthquake and tsunami to occur. While scripture demonstrates that God can and does intervene in both natural and human events these are to be viewed as the exceptions and not the rule.
The proper response of faith to such a tragedy must always be exactly what the Archbishop has stated in his article today. In the words of Jesus, we are to "love our neighbor as ourselves," we are to "do unto others as we would have them do unto us," we are to "love one another as I have loved you" (by which he means that, like Jesus, we should value the lives of others above that of our own, in imitation of Jesus who gave up his life for us on the cross). The Apostle Paul says that we "must bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ" (which is, of course, the law of love).
The Christian response to any tragedy or disaster is always in imitation of Jesus. And today our neighbors are in South Asia.
Update 1/3/05: It seems that the Archbishop's office was also disgusted by the same editorial malfeasance. Click here to see what the Archbishop's office said and how the Telegraph's editor responded.
According to the Archbishop, the appropriate response to such a tragedy is not to ask the big philosophical/theological questions but to "connect" with the humanity of those who are in the midst of suffering.
"The very thing that lies closest to the heart of a religious way of life in the world, the passion about the value of each and every life, the passion that makes religious people so obstinate and inconvenient when society discusses abortion and euthanasia...this is also just what makes human disaster so appalling, so much of a challenge to the feelings."
"That is also why the reaction of faith is or should be always one of passionate engagement with the lives that are left."
Unfortunately, the Telegraph's news article on the Archbishop's opinion piece (and subsequent articles elsewhere which are drawing from it) have represented it as a personal confession of his own doubt about God's existence.
The headline for the opinion piece reads, "Of Course This Makes Us Doubt God's Existence." I wonder if this title was written by the Archbishop or the opinion page editor...especially since neither the phrase itself nor the word "doubt" appear in the text.
By the time the article about the opinion piece appears, that suspect headline has morphed into, "Archbishop of Canterbury Admits: This Makes Me Doubt the Existence of God." Again, a sentiment which never appears in his opinion piece.
Here again is another example of the media twisting words of faith, compassion, strength and action into words of doubt and the essential fragility of faith itself. The excerpts quoted from the Archbishop's article are clearly taken out of context to provide the most insipid impression as possible.
It is a shame that this cheap shot has lessened the impact of what was otherwise a fine statement by a Christian leader.
Where I do digress from the Archbishop's statements, however, concerns his belief that "the traditional answers will only get us so far" in bringing either comfort or in coming to some understanding of the interplay of God's love and human suffering and pain.
My Calvinist reading of scripture assures me that nothing happens unless God either wills it to happen or allows it to happen. Furthermore, love, by its very nature, cannot command others to love in return. Love requires the freedom to accept and return that love or to reject it, ignore it or rebel against it.
Accordingly, some things happen because of human sin and rebellion against God's clearly revealed nature and will.
Others, because God has caused or allowed them to happen for some greater purpose.
Still others occur for no purposeful reason at all, such as the recent tsunami. In this situation, the very natural (and divinely created) processes that enable life to exist on this planet have produced a demonstration of their energy and power. Earthquakes (and resulting tsunamis), tornados, hurricanes, lightning strikes, volcanic eruptions and flooding are all necessary for the world to produce and sustain life. Without them the earth would be a chemical wasteland like the rest of the universe. In this sense we see God's providential grace for the greater good revealed in such events even though there may not be any specific purpose in the particular event itself.
Personally, I find it comforting to understand that God did not necessarily desire or cause this particular earthquake and tsunami to occur. While scripture demonstrates that God can and does intervene in both natural and human events these are to be viewed as the exceptions and not the rule.
The proper response of faith to such a tragedy must always be exactly what the Archbishop has stated in his article today. In the words of Jesus, we are to "love our neighbor as ourselves," we are to "do unto others as we would have them do unto us," we are to "love one another as I have loved you" (by which he means that, like Jesus, we should value the lives of others above that of our own, in imitation of Jesus who gave up his life for us on the cross). The Apostle Paul says that we "must bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ" (which is, of course, the law of love).
The Christian response to any tragedy or disaster is always in imitation of Jesus. And today our neighbors are in South Asia.
Update 1/3/05: It seems that the Archbishop's office was also disgusted by the same editorial malfeasance. Click here to see what the Archbishop's office said and how the Telegraph's editor responded.
posted by Bird of Paradise at 9:13 PM
<< Home