Archbishop: 'It should shake our faith in God'

Archbishop: 'It should shake our faith in God'

Martin Bright
Sunday January 2, 2005
The Observer

The events of the past week in south east Asia will cause all Christians to doubt their faith, the Archbishop of Canterbury said this weekend.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Dr Rowan Williams claims it is right that faith should shaken by the devastation of the tsunami, in which so many innocent people lost their lives.

'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,' he writes.

The prelate says it is the duty of all Christians to devote themselves to helping the survivors.

Despite his doubts, Dr Williams concludes that faith has the ability to survive such disasters. Those with faith can find a strength in God even in the light of such terrible events. 'The extraordinary fact is that belief has survived such tests again and again,' he adds.

On Wednesday, a three-minute silence will be observed across Britain as a sign of respect for the dead.

I don't believe in an interventionist God.

maybe churchgoers should start witholding their tithe money until god promises to play nice

For me, the most amusing/disturbing observation is how this natural disaster
fortifies the "faith in God" for the armageddon junkies that crowd this site!

Number23 said:

i respectfully disagree with the archbishop...but the respectfully part is, admittedly, a little difficult. there are many things i don't understand in life. heck, math is one of those things. because i don't understand math, however, does not lead me to a disbelief in mathematics. i just keep trying to understand math better.
[Edited 1/4/05 20:45pm]

i don't think GOD sits up in heaven and says ok..... tsuami kill people. earthquake over here and floods over there. in a since the saying shit happensis true ... shit happens. its just part of life.

i think people rationalize all kinds of crap to not believe in GOD. I think its convient for some not to, but how can you look at the process of just scratching your finger and than looking at how your body heals itself or all the little things that go into creating life and i can't forget the most impressesive part and that is how your ears are in the right place that we can wear glasses to see better. (jk God)

Not to mention how plants produce oxygen so we can breathe. i just can't believe a theory that it just happened by chance.

I'm with Number23 on this one. If there is a God, I don't think it intervenes in world events in any way. I'm more inclined to believe we're more similar to a game of chance than anything pre-decided.