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 I saw a piece on one of the news shows which asked the question, "Why did God allow the tsunami to kill people?" The reporter interviewed clergy from different faiths to seek the answer. These are some of the answers that were given -- none of them seemed to satisfy me.
One of them was a Buddhist monk. The Buddhist said that the tsunami was the ocean's way of showing displeasure with the pollution of the people on the coast. There is an assumption that nature is a god. This is a form of pantheism. The pantheist says: All that is, is god; god is whatever is.
Next was a Christian minister. This liberal Christian who was interviewed said that God had nothing to do with it. He stated that God was far away watching with compassion. He is assuming that God actually could not intervene, making God impotent. This is the definition of Deism. A deist thinks of god as the creator who set this universe on its present course, establishing its order and laws, and then let it go on its way, in much the same way as how a car manufacturer has no control of the car after it leaves the lot.
None of these answers are supported by Scripture. First of all, nature is not god but God controls the heavens and the earth and all of nature (Mark 4:35-41). Secondly, God is all-powerful and is involved in our daily lives (Luke 1:37). I would change the focus from the tsunami to death itself. The tsunami caused a terrible catastrophe, yet the real culprit is not a natural phenomenon but death itself. If the tsunami happened on a deserted island, no one would care. The tragedy was the death of people. One should remember that everyday people die and it is always tragic regardless of how one dies. The Bible says in Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death." The cause of death is sin. The good news is God has provided an antidote to the grave and it is Jesus Christ. In the second part of that same verse it says, "but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Speaking of death and the grave, Paul asks these rhetorical questions as he points to Jesus Christ as the source of victory in 1 Corinthians 15:55-57.
"Where, O death is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? ... But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
So the next time some one asks the why question about death, point them to the answer, Christ Jesus our Lord
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