I know Danny is reading A Generous Orthodoxy. Tim Challies has read the book, and posted a review so negative it will heat your house for a week.

I have some thoughts. These thoughts may or may not be helpful to those of you who might be dialoging with skeptics about the tsunami and God’s relation to such events. I was particularly thinking of those who equate this event with God’s judgement, or relate it to the fallenness of creation. My thoughts may seem silly, but that is how my mind works sometimes.

If you are a particular kind of creationist, I would ask you to please not respond to this post with creationism, because that is a discussion that I am not going into. If you need to prove that you think more highly of the Bible than I do because you can turn it into a science book, here’s your trophy.

Apparently, it is a creationist trump card to say that there was no death before sin. I have problems with this statement, and I was greatly relieved to discover that I am not the only one to have trouble with it, and not the only one to believe that what is referred to here is death as in death/separation from God, and not the possibility of physical death.

For instance, if cells are alive, and Adam ate an apple, death occured. In fact, plants have a life/death/life cycle built into them. There is no point in most plant biology if death isn’t built into the system.

Further, without entering the discussion of whether Adam was “mortal” or was conditionally immortal, I want to say that I cannot buy the idea that Adam was without the possibility of physical death. I say that for a simple reason: I believe physical limitations are built into all that God has created and these are NOT the result of sin. Certainly not entirely.

So I do not believe Adam could have a mountain dropped on him and live. I don’t believe he could have lived without oxygen, or with his brain or blood removed. I don’t believe he could have lived in outer space. And I don’t believe he could withstand being drowned.

Further, I do not believe that all of the earth’s dynamic systems are the result of sin. The earth is a dynamic planet, and tectonic plate movement is a result of the way the earth is made up, how the planet heats and cools itself and the constant changes that are part of life on earth, changes that are necessary on a planet that was formed rotating the sun, with a particular geologic makeup and dynamism. This isn’t a static universe, and it isn’t a universe degenerating from a static state.

I do not believe the law of gravity, for example, is evil. Nor do I believe God ordained that we should fly in planes. If a plane crashes, it is a tragic loss of human life. It is also what happens when a limited physical body meets the laws of gravity and physics. If you believe God made us to withstand that fall, and sin is the reason plane and car crashes are tragic, have at it. I don’t.

I don’t think God ordained we eat foods full of chemicals. I don’t think God said we should fly in jets. I don’t think God said we should go 90 mph in cars. I don’t think God said trees would never die and fall under the influence of gravity and kill the man sleeping under it. I don’t think God planned the atmosphere to operate without storms, floods or tornados. And I don’t think God said that millions of people on beaches should expect a commitment on his part to make sure the earth’s dynamic systems don’t operate in a way that creates monster waves and earthquakes.

Now, I know….we still have questions. Why that day and time? Why those people and not others? But I just have one question and answer to offer here: These events have nothing to do with a direct expression of the wrath of God. The scriptures are always talking about the power observable in storms, seas, mountains, lightning, wind and so on. Power that isn’t God (not animism iow) but power derived from God and demonstrating the comparative power of human beings, nature and the Creator. Scripture doesn’t say these things are a result of sin. It says they are God’s creation, and our God made them all. They are an expression of God’s creative power revealed in nature. Be amazed. Be humbled. Be awed. And realize what a tiny, temporary creature you are and how silly it is to believe that you don’t need to think about your creator.

God’s speech to Job wasn’t an apology. It was a bragging session. “It’s my creation. Who are you to question me?” The Psalms repeatedly point to the awesome power of nature- often the destructive power of the sea- and says all this is nothing compared to God.

I don’t think these events have anything to do with direct expressions of God’s wrath. I think they have to do with creation. We don’t see this as something wrong- we see it as something terrible, in the “awe struck” sense of that word. We are to be put in our place by nature: in awe of what God has made, and how fragile we are. We are mortal, and death is a fact. Death that separates families and loved ones is painful. Death that separates from God is a true disaster. But death at the hands of nature is no surprise to anyone with their eyes open.

When the earth treats us as lesser bits of creation, we are allowed to weep and our grief has dignity, but we have no business saying the event is something it is not. Modern humans believe they have tamed the earth. They believe that people with cell phones and space shuttles and flat screen TVs have no reason to fear the earth.

We are wrong. Live on planet earth, and you will see incredible things. And one day, something will happen to remind you that there are facts, limits and a dynamic universe that takes no excuse notes. Hurricane. Storms. Asteroid. Volvcano. Floods. Tsunami.

Human tragedy is not made larger or smaller by numbers. The widow losing her husband in ICU and the man watching his family washed away by the sea have losses that cannot be measured. All the charity in the world will not fill the void. We have to understand the tragedy existentially and as part of the human family. Jesus was human- fully, deeply human. Over and over his human heart broke, was filled with compassion and overflowed with love. We should imitate him, if he is in us. And at the same time, we should understand what has happened as truthfully- and as free from pagan notions of God’s involvement- as possible.

Glorify God. Be in awe. Tremble. Weep. Show compassion. Build a better alarm, a stronger building and a closer hospital.