Haiti

Surely everybody knows that Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, was recently decimated by an earthquake. Natural disasters have been a thorn in the side of those who believe in an all-loving god for millennia. The question arises: “How can a loving god allow bad things?”

First and foremost, I don’t believe in anything being unequivocally good or bad. Sure, a bunch of people were killed and buildings destroyed in Haiti, but the jaded eye also sees an overpopulation fix and job creator.

The idea of an unequivocally good god is extremely problematic. All of the actions of such a being would have to be for the good of all, at least in the long run. This immediately rules out the Christian god, who has threatened to eternally torture those who don’t submit their wills to him, so you’d have to modify it to: the good of all who submit their wills to Him, if you want to defend that particular god. You’d also have to argue that every act of destruction was absolutely necessary in order to bring about the eventual good of all. Of course, even an all-loving god could do bad things as a result of mistakes or failed tests, as he wouldn’t necessarily be all-knowing. (Testing our resolve, etc. in order to teach us would be included in having to be absolutely necessary.) Similarly, he wouldn't necessarily be all-powerful, so events could be out of an all-loving god's control. Finally, you’d have to argue that the end justified the means.

I often hear, “You can’t know good unless you experience bad.” I don’t think anybody who says this has ever been in a natural disaster. This is akin to saying you don’t know hot water until you’ve experienced cold water or something. It just doesn’t apply to the real world. Nobody in the history of the universe has ever said, “I just didn’t realize how great my life was until being raped really put it in perspective.”

I’ve heard that good things “balance” bad things. Natural disasters have no opposite. I suppose the closest you can get would be a miracle, and thousands of people have never been suddenly healed by some naturally occurring happenstance.

Several of my facebook friends posted ways of donating money to Haiti recovery. To demonstrate the conundrum of justifying beliefs in the face of reality, I think it’s worth pointing out that only ONE of my Christian friends even mentioned it, unless you count the pastor who posted, “God is doing big things!” the next day. Two of my facebook friends were part of fundraisers. The Christian radio station fundraiser in Texas raised a ton of money. The comedy club fundraisers in San Francisco’s gay district were also successful.

On a tangential note, I often hear, “My reality has been shattered” as if that’s a negative. Why do people want to hold on to their delusions?