So Many Questions in the After Shocks

Last updated on: January 13, 2011 at 6:29 pm by Rachel Held Evans

So Many Questions in the After Shocks 2011-01-13T18:29:51-07:00 Rachel Held Evans

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I wasn’t anywhere near the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004 when the Boxing Day Tsunami killed over 230,00 people in costal communities across India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and ten other countries. I wasn’t anywhere near the epicenter, but the events of that day rocked my faith forever.

As I watched news footage of women clinging to photographs of their dead children, dazed fishermen trying to find words for what happened, bodies washing ashore, and children wandering the streets, I found myself struggling to pray. What good would it do anyway? Why should my prayers for healing be answered when all those frantic prayers for survival went unheard? What kind of all-loving, all-powerful God would let this happen to begin with?

I had so many questions.

One of the first to propose an answer was a popular Reformed theologian who wrote an article claiming that God sent the tsunami as an act of judgment against sin. When I raised some questions about this position, my friends told me I was too emotional, too sensitive—that I couldn’t let my “humanistic tendencies” cloud the plain and simple fact that these people got what they deserved; they got what we all deserved, in fact. God sent the tsunami to reveal his might, they said, to remind us of how very angry he is with humanity.

So God would drown little children to make a point?

And so began a dark and frightening period of doubt that would forever change the course of my faith journey.

People tried to help. They bought me apologetic books. They sent me articles. They searched the Bible for answers to all my questions. And while I’ve come to appreciate their goodwill in those efforts, what I really needed at the time was for someone to come alongside me and say, “I don’t know. There aren’t easy answers. This troubles me too.”

I didn’t need answers. I needed a friend.

I’ve tried to be that friend to others now that I’ve grown accustomed to doubt and more receptive to the role that it plays in refining and strengthening faith. I blog. I write books. I travel around the country exchanging survival stories with people on a similar journey.

In Kent Annan I have found a kindred spirit. After Shock: Searching for Honest Faith When Your World Is Shaken describes in poignant detail Annan’s struggle to make sense of his faith in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake of 2010. As a longtime friend of Haiti and co-director of Haiti Partners, Annan sees the victims of the earthquake as human beings—not merely statistics and not merely theological issues—which frees him to tell his story with compassion and humor, color and honesty.

It is a raw, beautiful, and courageous book—one that gives new life and light to the questions so many of us struggle with in silence

When our faith is rocked, we don’t need answers. We need friends.

And sometimes, after a long conversation, a hearty laugh, or a good cry, we catch a glimpse of truth in the corner of our eye.

Rachel Held Evans is the author of Evolving in Monkey Town: How A Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask the Questions (Zondervan, 2010). She blogs athttp://rachelheldevans.com.

Visit the Patheos Book Club for more resources on After Shock: Searching For Honest Faith When Your World is Shaken.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

December 29, 2010

A Journey Worth Taking

Next Post

January 17, 2011 Thoughts on Grace

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Author Q&A Book Review Christian Living Church Leadership Stump a Scholar Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month June 2022 March 2021 October 2020 August 2020 February 2019 November 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 November 2016 October 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What miraculous catch did Peter witness after obeying Jesus?

Select your answer to see how you score.

A sea turning red A net full of fish A boat sinking A gold coin