Posted on 01/01/2005 4:22:44 PM PST by Pikamax
Archbishop of Canterbury admits: This makes me doubt the existence of God By Chris Hastings, Patrick Hennessy and Sean Rayment (Filed: 02/01/2005)
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.
To add a little more, tragedy does bring out the best in each of us. The donations, the sacrifice, the compassion. It would be heartless to say they had to die for everyone to learn to respect life a little more, but there's a lesson to be learned from everything.
Everything he says and does is the completely wrong thing!
I just worry about the members of this church.
Any wonder that only 10% of Europeans attend church regularly?
I'm talking about the "Why would a loving God allow this?" question.
We have no right to blame God for this, or striking back at Him by questioning His existence.
Unfortunately, the good die with the bad. I hate it as much as you, but that is the way it is. The Sun shines on the just and the unjust (and it rains on them too)
Sorry if any offense is taken.
I was unaware that God promised me a rose garden.
I don't think this person is truly Christian, as he does not appear to believe in an afterlife.
I must admit this latest line of crap does not surprise me. This isn't the first time this nincompoop has said something like this. It's time to show this clown the door.
This man is not only not saved (well, only God knows for sure), but he is a false prophet, if not THE false prophet. He wrote the preface to a new bible which is endorsed by the C of E and is now in many of its churches.
It nicely "corrects" the homophobia of the original text, utterly leaves out the Revelation, and is far less "offensive" to unbelievers.
See:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39114
hugs,
Marty
Too many leaders in the Anglican confession don't believe in God as he is presented in the Bible...which is why the church is falling apart in the west...sad to see it.
Maybe he should wave his magic Druid Harry Potter type wand and just restore everything.
>>What a goof.<<
My words exactly. He is a leader in a church and yet has no concept of the Christian message at all. Quite interesting, actually.
Maybe HE should read a copy of "The Problem of Pain" by C. S. Lewis.
How about the tens of thousands each year that are killed
in auto accidents especially caused by drunk drivers.
Where is the out cry. And I bet the ArchBishop hasn't
given up riding in a car.
There are many conservative / AngloCatholic Episcopal Churches that have been breaking away from the main branch.
Keep this up Arch., you will be talking yourself out of a
position and have to get a job like the rest of us
I'm something between an atheist and an agnostic (when someone can define god for me, then I might say if I believe in him; but so far all definitions I've constructed or have come across are inherently contradictory).
Nonetheless I have to takeover where this bishop's reasoning falls short:
If god were omnipotent, then he/it can change history and make it so this Tsunami disaster never happened.
NOT make it LIKE it never happened, but make it so it REALLY/ACTUALLY/FACTUALLY never happened.
And if a human being can't understand that, well maybe it helps to be omnipotent to understand that, so give it up.
End of story.
I'm seeing a swinging BACK of the pendulum of man and goodness. The Rose Parade today had a theme of "Family" -- ha ha, right under the Dems' noses. We do need to come home to God, and come back to our senses. Do unto to others, help each other find our way.
This man is now a prime example of what not to be like or believe.
Happy New Year to All - I thank God for his bountiful blessings, whether it be from granting wishes, or from lessons learned through adversity.
The Anglican Church of England is so far from God that they may as well not even exist.
This is the so called leader of the Anglican church?!@?!?!?!
Has he had a chance to read the bible at all in his role as bishop? Sheesh, what a misguided ship this church has got to be with this kind of message coming from the top.
The times are going to get worse, dear Bishop, not better ... Obviously, this man is not prepared for the job of getting 'his flock' ready for the coming of our Lord.
Sad
A true and abiding faith in God does not question His Will. ("Thy will be done...")
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.