Why did God permit this disaster?
...f disasters are a punishment or sign, others ask why only certain cities or certain parts of the world? Sacks asks, “why were the young, the frail, the saintly among the casualties?” The thought of God punishing people is morally unacceptable. These thoughts blame the victims for their fate. Jonathan Sacks states, “after the Holocaust, such thoughts ought to be unthinkable.” Jewish people read the Bible differently. The most challenging question is not from unbelievers but from the heroes of faith. The book of Job is dedicated to the question of why God does the things He does. The simplest explanation is from the 12th century Moses Maimonides. “Natural disasters have no explanation other than that God, by placing us in a physical world, set life within the parameters of physical. Planets are formed, earthquakes occur, and sometimes people die.” Rather than asking why this happens, we should ask what are we going to do about it? That is why the synagogues, churches, mosques and temples, are asking people for their help and prayer. A religious response is not to seek the truth, but to accept it. According to Sacks, “we are not God. Instead we are the people he has called on to be his partners in the work of creation.” We will never fully understand God, but we can strive to imitate his endless love and care for us. There is no...