Where is God in the Nepal Earthquake?

Last updated on: April 27, 2015 at 2:50 pm by Kyle Roberts

Where is God in the Nepal Earthquake? 2015-04-27T14:50:41-05:00 Kyle Roberts

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It is impossible to try to digest the magnitude of the loss: suffering, death, pain, and destruction caused by the earthquake in Nepal. We know that over 3,600 people were killed, numerous buildings destroyed (including some landmark structures in Kathmandu), and many roads rendered impassable. Over a dozen Mt. Everest climbers were also killed, with others left stranded on the mountain.

While at one level, “natural disasters” have a way of being “no respecters of persons,” at another level, they also

have a way of exposing the massive inequities that persist from country to country, location to location. Nepal is a developing country, scoring a ranking of only 145 of 187 countries in the Human Development Index. It is a poor country that boasts incredible natural and cultural beauty, but with a complicated political situation and challenging economic challenges.

In his book Where is God? Earthquake, Terrorism, Barbarity, and Hope, liberation theologian Jon Sobrino reflects on the theological question of “natural” disasters, in particular the earthquakes of 2001 in El Savador. Sobrino points out that some tragedies are interpreted as having greater world significance, depending on where they occur and–most crucially–whom they affect. The greatest tragedies, then, are those which have the greatest felt impact on the most powerful–the “writers” of the script of history or those whom that script is written around.

A related point is that, very often, “natural” disasters are most disastrous when they hit areas that are more susceptible to the ravages of nature: variables like financial resources, political structure, educational levels, and so on, create situations of deep vulnerability.

Too often in theology, discussions of the “Problem of Evil” make hard distinctions between “moral evil’ and “natural evil.” But the devastation caused by earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, and so on, can reveal deeper and more complex problems of the human condition that cannot be adequately addressed by distinguishing “moral” and “natural” evil. While geographical events and weather patterns are no respecters of persons, they can also be a sign of the lack of progress in affirming globally and fully the imago Dei in all human beings. The way the event is inscribed into our cultural and historical memories (or whether it is quickly forgotten altogether) is one of those signs.

Let me close with Sobrino’s own words from his first reflection on the devastation of an earthquake:

There is no logical, rationally convincing answer to the question about where God is in suffering. Without discussing it further now, let us simply say that God is also crucified. In Europe, Bonhoeffer and Moltmann have made that point very well. Some of us have also thought about the problem. But it is clear that the answer to the question about God can only be found in life: if ultimate mystery, even in a time of catastrophe, can give rise to hope. That is to say, if hope does not die.

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/50979393@N00/5153034163″>sadhus of katmandu</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/”>(license)</a>

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