The Origin of Terrible Circumstances

It troubles me when I hear people make comments that speak to their belief that God causes everything that happens. Often their words are well intended — meant to be comforting — by saying that a thing was in God's will. So American author, a Christian, Annie Dillard takes a very strong stand against the notion that we can blame God for the bad things of life. And I agree with her.

She says this:
''God is no more blinding people with glaucoma or testing them with diabetes or purifying them with spinal pain or choreographing the seeding of tumor cells through lymph or fiddling with chromosomes than is he jimmying flood waters or pitching tornadoes at towns.  

"God is no more cogitating which among us He plans to place here as bird-headed dwarfs or elephant men or to kill by AIDS or kidney failure or heart disease, childhood leukemia, or sudden infant death syndrome, than He is pitching lightning bolts at pedestrians, triggering rock slides or setting fires.

The very least likely things for which God might be responsible are what insurers call ‘acts of God’." So Annie Dillard takes a very strong stand against the notion that we can blame God for the bad things of life.  And I agree with her.

Nothing bad should be blamed on God.  It all comes from our human brokenness or our failure to plan, build, prepare for storms, disaster and breakdowns. They happen in our world. And they are not sent by God.

Recovery, healing, creativity, beauty, efficiency, comes from God. God is there picking us up, re-newing our broken spirits, stimulating ideas and solutions, holding the shattered together.

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