God of Wrath? God of Justice. Part II
nava March 4th, 2009
State deterrent: Malaysia considers criminalising suicide to stem increase
Gunmen ambush cricket team in Pakistan
Russia: 5 years lost due to financial crisis
These are just a few of this week’s headlines. Human beings murdering one another senselessly. Suicide rates on the rise. Financial crises gripping the enitre planet. Many would point to these and endless other headlines as proof that God is indeed a God of wrath since He allows these things to occur.
Can God actually prevent these things from happening? Of course! He’s the Omniscient, All-Powerful, Almighty Lord of everything. The entire creation is held in the hollow of His hand. He can do anything He wants. But, what role does human accountability play in all of this? Free will?
If He directly intervened and prevented the gunmen, for instance, from shooting innocents, wouldn’t that reduce the gunmen to puppets? On the other hand, having now exercised their free will in such a base and brutal way, shouldn’t they be subject to some form of punishment? It’s not just “revenge”. It’s a protection for their fellow Sri Lankan citizens who have the right to roam streets that aren’t crowded by men who run around shooting people as they please.
So let’s define some key terms. Perhaps “wrath” is actually “justice”. If God were only merciful, He would be imperfect. Because showing mercy to the tyrant is showing cruelty to the innocent. (See example above.) Thus it is clear that true justice would demand that you curtail these men’s freedoms, punish them. Some may deem punishment a form of wrath, but it is certainly mercy as far as the rest of the populace is concerned. And more than wrath, it is justice, because these men brought their punishments upon themselves.
As such, it is evident that the wrath of God is in fact the administration of His justice.
How does this work on a larger scale? Natural disasters, calamities, suffering plaguing all corners and pockets of the globe…are these manifestations of the wrath of God? Or are they the natural consequence of a society which for ages has turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the call of God? If we followed but ONE law, the law of moderation, for instance, so many of the sufferings plaguing our world would be vanquished. Small segments of the world’s population wouldn’t live way beyond their means while others died from starvation, hygiene and health problems; the natural disasters exacerbated by our own civilization carried to excess would be fewer and further in between- and the list goes on.
If He simply wiped away all of the suffering we’ve brought upon ourselves, how would we ever learn? What would prevent future generations from making the same mistakes over and over again? A good teacher never does the work for his or her student, but a good teacher does not abandon the ailing student either, no matter how little attention that student has paid. And so God does not abandon us in our time of need. Instead, as we move further away from Him, He sends another Divine Teacher (a Prophet, Messenger, Manifestation) to make known His will unto us. To remind us of His laws which, put into place, will alleviate our suffering, and will transform this world from a place of sorrow and woe into the promised Kingdom of God on earth. And in bringing us these teachings, His Manifestation suffers immensely at our hands! We persecute and revile Him. Deny His divinity. Refuse His teachings. And then…we suffer. Because His laws are for our good, disobedience to them predictably proves to be harmful. And after all of this–reviling His Prophets, ignoring His laws which are the source of all benevolence and mercy–we have the audacity to accuse God of being ”wrathful.”
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Lots of good points here. Not sure I can agree with certain points, however. Especially natural disasters etc being either the result of the wrath of God or else ignorance of society. Sometimes natural disasters are simply random occurrences in a natural world. We only call it a disaster if we live near enough to be affected. Whether rich or poor, ignorant or learned, a disaster can end human life without discrimination. That, I believe, is the meaning of ‘random’, but such occurrences can result in human virtue development, such as acceptance, patience, gratitude… I would prefer not to look for an excuse or justification for a natural disaster, and instead concentrate on appreciating the fragility of the human being, my own humble existence, reducing any arrogance I may hold, in realizing in the next second, my life could be over in a flash of lightening. That makes me appreciate every moment better, and love God all the more.
your explanation on bahai’s perspective sound very much like christianity, Islam and Hinduism. I am waiting for a God that really solve the world’s problem at the present, not story telling like any other existing religions – it just can’t sell.