Moore, Oklahoma, Newtown, Connecticut, and…God

May 24, 2013
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Moore, Oklahoma and Newtown, Connecticut, both tragedies in which children died in a school house. In Oklahoma death struck by the wrath of a tornado’s killer winds, in Connecticut death came from the tornado writhing inside a young man’s head. Where, those of us rooted in the teachings of western religion, might ask, where was God in both of these tragedies? Most of us, who are either Jewish, Christian, or Muslim, have been taught that the God in whom we believe is Almighty, the God who is the ruler of the universe, the God who can create miracles, the God who can intervene in the natural order at will, and do anything. If this were true, then why didn’t God, simply hold back this Oklahoma E5 tornado for about an hour, so that all the children could have gone to a safer place. Surely, this is not too much to ask of one who controls everything in the universe. Or, in the case of Adam Lanza, the Newtown shooter, why not just quiet the tornadic demons in his head, so that he would not have shot those children.

I realize that each of us who believe in God, must do so out of the faith structure of our individual background. But, in light of the two tragedies mentioned above, I would ask you to examine those beliefs to see if indeed they make any sense. Or for that matter, do our beliefs cohere with the lived experiences of our own lives, and the experiences of others, now and throughout human history?

I ask these questions of you, because I believe so profound a concept as belief in God demands not only a deep faith, but the rigors of our God-given human intellect as well. Anything less, I believe, demeans God.
-Rabbi Alvin Sugarman