News and reflections on the events of 26th December 2005
NIFCON has been receiving and forwarding news of members, offers of help and details of inter faith responses to the disaster. We are humbled to be playing a small part in the world wide response. If you need more information please do contact the office as there is far too much to post here.
A great deal has been said and written but here are two theological reflections from NIFCON members.
The Tsunami Disaster and Human Suffering - a reflection
Following the tsunami disaster in South East Asia people have once again been asking the age old question; "why do innocent people suffer?" Despite all human advancement, this remains a question that cannot be answered with absolute certainty. Then how can we wrestle with this issue which the entire world faces regardless of the divisions of class, caste, religion and ethnicity etc? In this process our faith, philosophies, values, attitudes and other such qualities become vital.
Throughout history religions have been presenting ideas and philosophies to enable people to come to terms with the suffering they face in this world. Religions such as Hinduism have shown that one has to suffer because of the deeds or karma of previous births. Although Buddhists basically accept this theory, Buddha had indicated that there are other natural disasters, unrelated to any prior life, but which also affect humanity. Religions such as Christianity, Islam and Judaism have been assuring their believers that although these terrible events happen, God or the ultimate reality (deity perhaps) is in control of everything.
In the 21st century with the development of modern communications such as the Internet and email all religious philosophies are accessible to people in towns and villages thoughout the world. In this situation people without any formal religious learning are influenced by these old faiths. The assumption that only so called "religious people" are influenced by these beliefs and philosophies are further disproved by the ways in which followers of many religious philosophies (and none) have come together in bringing relief and consolation to victims of the recent tsunami disaster.
This huge outpouring of care and love for our fellow men regardless of religious beliefs and philosophies is a great inspiration to our apparently secular society. This highlights the "spirituality" of human beings, and goes far beyond the labels of religious affiliations. In this world where people kill each other for money, power and other base motives this tsunami disaster has proved that the "divine qualities" of human beings are not lost.
Study of many religions show that innocent suffering both as individuals and communities is redemptive and open the hearts and mind of even evil people. In the 20th century this reality was effectively proved by the lives and work of people such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Mandela.
Therefore this tsunami disaster which was beyond human control has at least taught us human beings two lessons. First of all the frailty and limitations of human knowledge, despite all the advancement that has taken place in the world. Secondly the positive effect of the power of innocent suffering, which unites humanity irrespective of all human barriers, has been affirmed by this disaster.
In a world where powerful nations tend to think that they control the destiny of humanity, this catastrophe has reminded us that all human beings are equal and that we need one another to live in this world.
Let this disaster be a source of inspiration to the world so that we rediscover the dependent nature of humanity on this planet.
Rev. Fr. Keerthisiri Fernando UK and Sri Lanka.
The Tsunami - A Christian Reflection.
The recent tsunami in the Indian Ocean presents a huge challenge to all those who reflect on our world and events that take place in it.
Tsunamis have taken place in many parts of the world and we know of about 298 of them - some very small and some very large, but none of them larger than that of 26.12. The occurrence of Tsunamis is a real possibility any time and in any coastal area.
The world knows quite a lot about tsunamis ? where they have occurred and how they are caused. The sad fact is that many of us did not, and many even learned the word only after the 26th of December.
While much effort has been put into space research and making weapons of mass destruction, not enough has been done to save the world from tsunamis and other such natural disasters. Indeed they cannot be prevented but we could have had more efficient early warning systems in place ? if only we had our priorities right.
Against that context what do we make of this terrible disaster?
It poses a special problem and challenge to all those who believe in a Creator God and in transcendental powers, as I do.
If there is a Creator God and if we are under the control and influence of transcendental meta cosmic powers how could such a thing have been allowed to happen?
Let us learn to approach this and other such problems scientifically, that is, using the best scientific knowledge at our disposal. Too many people in Sri Lanka, for instance, still believe that angry Gods need to be placated, human sacrifices need to be offered and that it is best to trust in astrology. All of us need to be educated beginning in our secondary schools about natural phenomena and the need to think scientifically and act accordingly.
Those who attribute the tsunami to Karmic forces could not have studied what Buddhism and Hinduism teach about the way in which the Laws of Karma operate. We simply cannot attribute all that happens in our world to Karma
Theists will in the main attribute the tsunami to God - it is an act of God. They will maintain.
But do we really believe any longer, if we ever did so, in a cruel wicked God who can destroy so many innocent thousands in one fell blow? I for one simply cannot believe in such a God. The God in whom Christians, like me, believe is a God of infinite compassion and love, who loves all people at all times under all circumstances. God desires the well being of all and does not desire even the death of a sinner, but rather that the sinner should turn away from evil ways and live.
Some may perhaps believe that God is deliberating punishing an evil generation. Can a God of justice punish the good with the evil and give vent to wrath in such a dreadful way? No, this is not a punishment from God. No one can believe in such a vengeful God.
The fact of the matter is that we have experienced this deadly disaster and we simply have no explanation. The world continues to be a well ordered and well governed place, this disaster notwithstanding, and the exception does not disprove the rule .As long as we live upon this earth we shall have to put up with such terrible phenomena as earthquakes, floods and tsunamis, and we shall never know why. The man made disasters are indeed another matter and we do know why they happen.
Christians will want so say that God's ways are mysterious and that some how God will make some good to issue from this disaster. What a terrible way in which to make some good to result, when one thinks of the terrible suffering the tsunami has caused.
I would venture the thought that we humans can never explain these terrible events but we can turn even the most terrible disaster into something beneficial to humankind if we want to. This seems to be the only way in which we can live through this disaster and retain our sanity.
One day around 32 A.D. an innocent person, Jesus Christ was killed by people. That Jesus was the type, example, of millions of others who have been made to suffer, punished and killed through no fault of their own. But we human have been able to turn the death of Jesus and indeed of others like him who have suffered and died through no fault of their own, into a source of inspiration and benefit for humankind .The great martyrs, and I do not mean just the people of religion, but all who have died standing up for justice, truth and peace, have inspired even the most cynical among us .If that be so they have not died in vain.
These thousands of people who have been made to suffer so much and to die on 26.12 may perhaps bring at least a few of us, not least in our Asian countries, to our true senses.
How could we have killed one another in internecine conflicts for so long? How could we have killed so many of our own fellow country people by simply ignoring the death dealing poverty in which they languish? How could we have wasted our own resources and the resources of our countries in wars, and in extravagant and wasteful life styles when so many of our own people did not have the basic needs of life like, clean water, food, clothing and adequate shelter, to maintain their lives?
Perhaps this tsunami will make us give up quibbling and yearn for justice and peace with greater sincerity. Perhaps it will impel us not just to send back the displaced to their hovels and their grinding poverty, but to make is possible for all of them to live decent human lives which is their birth right. If we so wish we can learn from the tsunami that just as it did not discriminate between rich and poor, Sinhala and Tamil, male and female or any other such thing, so we too must live as one human family, all subject to the many changes and chances of this life .Are conflict and division justifiable any longer when just one tsunami can finish up the lives of us all in a matter of minutes?
If the tsunami will teach us this lesson the many thousands who have died, not least the children, would not have died in vain. It may be that God still continues to reign.
Bishop Kenneth Fernando Retired Bishop of Colombo Formerly Co-President Christian Conference of Asia