How does the fall relate to tragedies like 9/11, disasters such as the Tsunami of 2004

(an earthquake caused a tsunami that killed over 225,000 people), and the COVID-19

pandemic in 2020?

With disasters like 9/11, the 2004 Tsunami, and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, I've seen all of

these events as inevitable. All catastrophes have varied repercussions on the globe, and they all

have almost identical consequences. Regarding this tragedies, I don’t believe that God is the

creator of natural catastrophes nor do I believe that God would inflict that amount of pain and

suffering or even death as the result of sin. I also find it hard to believe that God being at the

helm and allowing events like this to take place or even be the cause of them. I feel that if these

things where to pass through his hands, his divine nature wouldn't allow for such extremes of

hurt and pain. We are given choices and those choices are what make certain situations important

(Fountain, Kindon, & Murray, 2004).

Based on the topic study material, how would you explain how a good, loving, and

all-powerful God allows suffering and evil in his creation?

Based on the topic study material, we are all blessed with the opportunity to have free will in this

world. I think that a good, loving, and all-powerful God allows suffering and evil in his creation

because He loves us, and wants us to take refuge in him when times are tough. When we sin; we

do have consequences behind them no matter what but God always Has mercy on all his

creation. When looking at the effects of COVID-19, I remember first thinking this pandemic was

punishment for all of our actions, but over time it has changed due to the constant issues we go

through every day. The existence of evil and suffering is arguably one of the biggest obstacles

that Religion and Believers face. Even great intellectuals are occasionally puzzled by the

apparent inconsistency between the presence of a loving God and the reality of evil. For instance,
C.S. Lewis wrote after the loss of his wife, "Meanwhile, where is God? This is one of the most

disquieting symptoms. But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is in vain,

and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting

on the inside." Nevertheless, Lewis made peace with his sadness and understood, in the end, that

God not only exists, but that, despite our sufferings, He is all-loving.

Explain how your reaction to evil events has caused you to reassess your worldview?.

I stand strong in my faith in God, and I find that the events that happen are meant to happen and I

shouldn't allow it to stop my walk in this life no matter what. I feel that there is a level of evil

that is almost necessary to allow for a sort of balance, and this doesn’t mean that I'm in

agreeance with it taking place. I also feel that God is aware of this and seems to have the answers

as to why it is taking place, and if he felt the need to put an end to it, he would without question.

I don’t think that it is possible for God to have created a world without any evil at all. It goes

back to a balance that is needed even though we don’t have any clear answers as to why evil is

needed.
References

Fountain, P. M., Kindon, S. L., & Murray, W. E. (2004). Christianity, calamity, and culture: the

involvement of Christian churches in the 1998 Aitape tsunami disaster relief. The Contemporary

Pacific, 321-355.

Boler, M. (2013). Teaching for hope: The ethics of shattering worldviews. In Discerning critical

hope in educational practices (pp. 48-61). Routledge.