Article October 4, 2004 Issue

How you can respond to news of natural disasters

A spirituality.com commentary

The wording of insurance policies and other contracts often refers to "acts of God" when designating disastrous events over which humans have no control—hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and the like—in contrast with the havoc caused by people, such as wars or environmental damage.

Certainly, insurance companies aren't making theological pronouncements when they use the term, "act of God." They're simply acceding to a general assumption that God is in charge of nature and people are in charge of their own decisions. But this still leaves the conclusion that when the forces of nature impact negatively on human lives, God is responsible.

Such reasoning leads to prayer that asks the cause of disaster to negate the effects of a divine decision, in other words to change reality in one's favor. If this kind of prayer should fail, it tends to confirm the concept of a distant and uncaring Creator. It could even make the human condition itself seem like an existential disaster.

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