Roger said:
Theodicy, in other words – the attempt to reconcile God’s perfect goodness with the manifest evils of His world – has arisen from the waves. On the retro, fundamentalist side, various clergymen of the cloth announced that the tsunami was the rational act of a deity enraged by (take your pick): the suppression of Christianity in South Asia, pornography and child trafficking in that same locale, or, in the view of some Muslim commntators, the bikini-clad tourists at Phuket. [Aside - this makes as much sense as the Kansas Westboro nutjobs connecting Iraq and homosexuality. I also find it a gross offense to presume that all those flying a fundamental or literal banner would figure that the tidal wave was some sort of just punishment.] On the more liberal end of the theological spectrum, God’s spokespeople hastened to stuff their fingers in the dike even as the floodwaters of doubt washed over it. Of course God exists seems to be the general consensus. And of course He is perfectly good. It’s just that His jurisdiction doesn’t extend to tectonic plates. Or maybe it does and he tosses us an occasional grenade like this just to see how quickly was can mobilize to clean up the damage. Besides, as the Catholic priests like to remind us, “He’s a ‘mystery,’ “ . . .

I love the word Theodicy. For one thing, it's fun to say. For another thing, although it means, A vindication of God's goodness and justice in the face of the existence of evil, it sounds like it could mean theological idiocy, which is what I often think when I read explanations like the ones above. God doesn't need the likes of us to vindicate or justify him. He's God. His ways and his thoughts are highter than mine (Isaiah 55:9) More theological idiocy. I won't say God doesn't punish people because the people of Sodom and Gomorah would probably beg to differ, and as Wilberforce said thinking God could never be so cruel as to do ....... is the mistake that Adam and Eve made in the garden. But, when Jesus died on the cross, he took the punishment for all the sins of all the world onto himself. I really don't think (I could be wrong) that the world has seen God's wrath since Jesus did that. God doesn't need to give us a big holy whack because Jesus already suffered His ultimate holy whack for us all. Like I said in my other post, I think what we have seen is God allowing us to suffer the consequences of our actions. But, that's not the point of today's theological pothole. My point is that when the fundies come up with these brilliant explanations for why God didn't stop the tsnami - that the real reason that they do that - is because then they don't have a share in the guilt.

Every manjack one of us is responsible for global warming - without exception. I don't care how many indulgences carbon credits you buy. We're all guilty. But, those fundy goof balls want to be all smug and holy, and not accept their part in the guilt. Well, that's wrong, and it is a sin in and of itself. It is 1) lying, 2) pride. Bonhoeffer said, "Jesus took upon Himself the guilt of all men, and for that reason every man who acts responsibly becomes guilty. If any man tries to escape the guilt in responsibility he detaches himself from the ultimate realtiy of human existence, and what is more he cuts himself off from the redeeming mystery of Christ's bearing guilt without sin and he has no share in the devine justification which lies upon this event."