The South Asian Tsunami, which claimed more than 180,000 lives, sparked a debate about the existence and nature of God. Why, the question goes, would a benevolent and merciful God allow such destruction. War and conflict can be explained away as the actions free, moral agents. But this argument does not apply to the Tsunami.
I do not know what the answers are in this complex debate. Belief in God depends, to a large extent, on strength of personal belief and not intellectual reasoning.
What does irk me, however, is the view expressed by some clerics that the Tsunami is a punishment from God. These same people insist that God is merciful and kind. How do they reconcile this with the view that the destructive Tsunami, which killed innocent men, women and children, is a punishment? Why was South Asia selected for punishment? Is it more ‘sinful’ than other regions of the world?
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