Made For TV

God and the tsunami
How can a merciful God allow such disaster and suffering?

The above was the topic of discussion last night on MSNBC’s Scarborough Country, and so it begins. Roll out a few whack jobs from the religious right, left, and in between and it certainly makes for good television. This assumes of course you consider Jerry Springer good television. It was a lively exchange of personal attacks. It had very little to do with God, it had a great deal to do with your 15 minutes of fame.

I’m not clear on a lot of issues in this world and this falls into that arena. I have seen the footage of the waves sweeping away lives and shattering the very existence of thousands. It is not an easy thing to watch. But, not unlike the attack on the twin towers, I find I cannot look away. Yet, it never strikes me that this is the wrath of God. I will let the great religious minds debate that issue.

In 1998, 138,000 people died in Bangladesh after a series of cyclones hit the region. No real comment from God it seems.
Years prior, millions of Cambodians were murdered in the infamous "Killing fields”, far exceeding the horrors of the Nazi death camps of WWII. The press pretty well passed on that one.
Today, in Sudan thousands die daily, and yet no talk of God’s wrath.
I guess we need to toss in European and Western folks into the mix to bring God into the mix.
To be honest, I do see God in all of this. I see the uniting of different countries and cultures with the sole purpose of helping. I watch the outpouring of monies and donations from regular people, who just want to do something.
At some point this relief effort will get caught up in local and international politics. It will bog down and fingers will be pointed, but until then I will revel in the warmth of humankind as we do the best we can with what God gave us.

There will be a movie deal, a Tsunami version of Fear Factor or Survivor. Hollywood won’t be letting this slip by easily. Human suffering makes for great film fodder at some point. I can only hope that we don’t begin to lose concern and interest when all the excitement wears off.