Letter of the Day | Are natural disasters acts of God?

THE EDITOR, Madam:

As a child growing up, whenever Mother Nature would unleash her wrath, the older folks would say it is God moving in mysterious ways.

Storms came, thunder rolled, lightening flashed, the Earth shook. We were told that God was causing this and other natural calamities. God chose the time and place for these to happen, affecting a lot of people and leaving behind serious aftermath.

When we were children we would pray for God to spare us from the wrath of his hands. Now that we are adults, we wonder if it is really God who is causing all those disasters.

It seems that mankind finds ways and means to disrupt nature, even to create artificial rain, which is causing all sorts of problem on the planet. Mankind’s actions are challenging and changing the course of nature and creating these disasters.

The earthquake in Turkey and Syria killed thousands of people – adults and even small children. They were living peacefully, working and raising families, and in one stroke, their world fell apart. It was revealed that most of the deaths were due to buildings collapsing, which was because they were made with substandard materials.

On the other hand, there is an ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, which is a manmade disaster. Can some act of God put an end to this war?

Importantly, my question is, if it is God that keeps causing all these disasters, aren’t the people who are affected said to be His children. Why should His children suffer?

RAS HOWARD HENRY