USATODAY.com has this fabulous article about survivors of 9/11 struggling with their own faith. For some, their faith has increased; others have seen a lack of faith in their lives.
What I have seen in my own life is that people’s faith can go two ways during a personal or universal disaster. For some, their faith grows and emotional struggles are brought forward and placed in God’s hand. Others, meanwhile, ask, “Where is God in this?”
Nobody will know why God allows suffering like 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina. In fact, going deeper, why would a benevolent, omnicient God allow any personal pain? My only answer to this deep theological question is that when man broke away from God during the first sin, personal pain and struggle was created.
I don’t pretend to have any answers, and I get ticked off at God too during massive disasters like 9/11.
What this article does a great job of showing is that faith is a struggle. There is one absolute, but beyond that, faith is relative chaos. Which may explain why people are screwing it up and misinterpreting it constantly.
