Archbishop of Canterbury admits: This makes me doubt the existence of God

Telegraph ^ | 04 January 2005 | Chris Hastings, Patrick Hennessy and Sean Rayment

[Catholic54321]

The Asian tsunami disaster should make all Christians question the existence of God, Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, writes in The Telegraph today.

In a deeply personal and candid article, he says "it would be wrong" if faith were not "upset" by the catastrophe which has already claimed more than 150,000 lives.

Dr Rowan Williams: Prayer provides no 'magical solutions' Prayer, he admits, provides no "magical solutions" and most of the stock Christian answers to human suffering do not "go very far in helping us, one week on, with the intolerable grief and devastation in front of us".

Dr Williams, who, as head of the Church of England, represents 70 million Anglicans around the world, writes: "Every single random, accidental death is something that should upset a faith bound up in comfort and ready answers. Faced with the paralysing magnitude of a disaster like this, we naturally feel more deeply outraged - and also more deeply helpless."

He adds: "The question, 'How can you believe in a God who permits suffering on this scale?' is therefore very much around at the moment, and it would be surprising if it weren't - indeed it would be wrong if it weren't."

Dr Williams concludes that, faced with such a terrible challenge to their faith, Christians must focus on "passionate engagement with the lives that are left".

His comments came as Tony Blair finally broke his silence on the tragedy, branding it a "global catastrophe" that would take the world "years" to deal with. The Prime Minister, who has faced criticism for not cutting short a family holiday in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh, also insisted that the United Nations should lead the international aid effort. He praised the "extraordinary generosity" of the British people, whose donations topped £60 million last night. The Government has thus far pledged £50 million.

Interviewed by Channel 4 News, Mr Blair said: "At first it seemed a terrible disaster. But I think as the days have gone on people have recognised it as a global catastrophe.

"It is not simply the absolute horror of what has happened and how many people's lives have been touched in different ways, it is also the fact that the consequences are not just short-term and immediate but long-term and will require a great deal of work by the international community for months, if not years, to come.

"We've got millions of people displaced, we've got the potential of disease coming from this and we've got whole areas of that region that will have to be rebuilt."

He shrugged off claims that he should have come home to take charge of Britain's aid effort, adding that he had been in touch "practically hourly" with Downing Street.

Mr Blair said that one of his key tasks during Britain's year-long presidency of the G8 group of leading industrial nations, which started yesterday, was to liaise with other leaders. His faith in the UN seemed undimmed despite the international rows in the months prior to the war in Iraq and he dismissed as a "misunderstanding" claims that President George W. Bush had tried to snub the organisation by setting up a four-country task force with Australia, India and Japan.

"When I spoke to President Bush a short time ago he made it very clear that he wanted the UN to be in the lead and that he sees the work that the US is doing as very much supportive of that," he said.

Mr Blair's intervention was made as it was disclosed that Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, would lead Britain's international anti-poverty drive by going on a three-nation trip to east and southern Africa later this month.

Meanwhile, a 10-man British military reconnaissance team arrived in Sri Lanka to assess how British Armed Forces could best assist the stricken country which, with Thailand, Indonesia and southern India, has borne the brunt of the disaster.

The team will report back to the Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood, Middlesex, in the next 72 hours. The main focus of Britain's effort is likely to be directed towards Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Two Royal Navy ships, the frigate Chatham, currently on patrol in the Gulf, and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel Diligence, already in the Indian Ocean, are heading for Sri Lanka. A C-17 Globe Master transport aircraft, which can carry 100,000lbs of cargo, has also been allocated to supply aid.

The Pope in his New Year message yesterday led prayers for victims at St Peter's Basilica in Rome, and a prayer vigil for victims, survivors and families was being held at Central Hall, Westminster, last night.

On Wednesday, a nationwide three-minute silence will be observed across Britain.

[D Edmund Joaquin]

Other gods don't have such deep apologetics, so it wouldn't be much fun doubting their existence in roundtable discussions.

Other gods= man's vain imaginings

[RnMomof7]

This event has brought talk of God and judgment to the unsaved. Like all things this too is to the glory of God. There will be people saved because of the proclamation of the gospel, and there will be people condemned by refusing and in all God is glorified.

Those that lost their life came to the place we all will one day, the judgment seat of God.He will ask why we should be allowed to enter. They have faced that question, and its eternal consequences have begun.

It seems to me the only time it is permissible to speak of God and Christ is when there is death and destruction.

I have heard so many famous preachers on TV as of late, but precious little presentation of the gospel. They are usually asked to defend or define the cause of the tragedy. But those with ears will hear !

Happy New year GWB

[Quix]

THE FOLLOWING is probably THE BEST essay/piece I've read about the Tsunami vis a vis God vs satan having to do with the event.

---

Regarding The Dec 26 Tsunami

Teresa Seputis

It was only 5 PM on Christmas Day where I live. It was 6:30 in the morning the day after Christmas for the people in India. It was 7 or 8 in that same morning for most of the rest of the places that were effected by the Tsunami that devastated southern Asia. It took about 12 hours for the news of this terrible disaster to travel throughout the world. Over 22,000 people are reported dead and the death toll is expected to climb even higher than that.

And people are asking "Why did this happen?" Christians around the world cannot help but notice how near this disaster was to Christmas Day and that the people effected by this were mostly idol worshippers. And some have wondered if this was some type of judgment of God against idolatry. In fact, that question ran briefly through my own mind as I got past the initial shock of the terrible news. I found myself asking God -- "was this a judgment or was it an attack of the enemy or what?"

It took about an hour before I was able to hear God's answer to my question. I think the delay was because this sad news hit me very hard, as I have close ties to the area. I have flown in/out of Chennai (a.k.a. Madras) many times. The state of Tamilnadu, where Madras is located, was one of the areas hardest hit in India.

And I have ministered many times in the State of Andhra Predesh, and over 200 people are reported to have died from the Tsunami in that state. In fact, I had a guest from Andhra Predesh in my home at the exact instant the tsunami hit, and his wife was in India visiting her family 15 miles from the coast. (We did not know about the Tsunami until after he had gone home that night.)

This is what God told me: This was NOT a judgment from God, it was an attack of the enemy. The attack mirrors in the natural what God is about to do in the spirit, and it precedes an upcoming move of God in those areas. God has been hard a work behind the scenes to prepare South Asia for revival. It is almost ripe and God is going to release a wave of great revival there, a revival that will draw people to the truth and sweep away the stronghold of idolatry and ancestor worship.

The devil is one who comes to comes to kill, steal and destroy. And he has brought this tsunami to kill as many people as he can before the revival hits. He is doing this because he does not want them to be saved in the revival. It is not God's heart or desire to destroy the people who live in great darkness in this part of the world -- it is His desire to shine His light into their darkness and to save them.

The Lord showed me a princple that relates to enemy activity in the area. The principle is that the enemy's "thing" is to kill and destroy, and the more of a hold he has on an area, the more of an ability he has to do his thing in that area. For instance, in India, the state of Tamilnadu was the one that was hardest hit by the Tsunami, and where most of the death and destruction occurred.

This same state is one that had given the devil a stronghold by passing a very strong anti-conversion law that could imprison anyone who leads a person to the Lord. And because the devil had a stronghold on this area, he was able to bring more death/destruction to it than to other parts of India. (I am not saying that Tamilnadu is the only demonic stronghold in India. But the devil was able to destroy much there because it was one of his strongholds.) The good news is that Tamilnadu is almost ripe for revival and that area will be filled with God's light and presence."

We must remember that God's heart is for the lost and He wants to bring them to Himself. The devil's heart is to kill, steal and destroy and to oppress and keep people in darkness. God's goal and the devil's goal are diametrically opposed to one another. That is why there is a war going on between the two sides. God has already won the war when Jesus rose from the dead, breaking the power of sin and death. But God values human free-will; He wants people to worship Him of their own free choice. And in order to preserve our ability to choose (free will) God has not yet banished the devil to Hell. The devil knows he is defeated, and like a trapped animal he still lashes out against God's kingdom and engages in warfare.

The Tsunami was a great and heart-breaking tragedy. We need to ask ourselves how God wants us to respond to this. I would like to share three insights to that question.

First, He wants us to love them with the love of Christ. That love does not sit idly by and hope the people will get the help they need -- instead that love helps those who become destitute from this Tsunami -- it gives both financial and practical aid. We are not to limit our help to just those who are willing to convert. We are to follow God's example: God sends His rain on both the just and the unjust, so we should help all who are effected, not just those who agree with our viewpoint.

Second, we need to pray for God's will to be done in this area. God's will is to bring a wave of His revival -- to break the power of darkness, to bring light and life and joy and peace and provision to these people. It is to bring them to the saving knowledge of Jesus so that they put away their idols and worship only Him. So we need to pray and intercede in agreement with God's will for a great revival to come to South Asia.

Third, we must participate with God in accomplishing His will in that area. This means doing missions work in South Asia. It also means supporting and equipping the indigenious believers as they evangelize their nations.

Great darkness has come to this area in the form of this terrible tradegy. Now it is time for the body of Christ to bring great light to dispell that darkness. It is time for us to bring practical and tangible help, as well as to bring God's love and the good news of the gospel to this region. It is also time to demonstrate the reality and power of God's love by healing the sick and doing the works that Jesus did.

Blessings

Teresa

Teresa Seputis

TS@GodSpeak.org

URL:

http://www.godspeak.org

GodSpeak International; PO Box 4000; Hayward CA 94540-4000; USA GodSpeak International; PO Box 200; Bristol BS32 8YG; United Kingdom

From:

http://www.etpv.org/whatsnew.html