Sinful Tsunamis

How the Concept of Sin Helps and Harms Us, Part 3

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Normally, while sitting at my desk at work moderating an online community back in 2011 my most pressing concern would be to manage spiraling emotions during a fight in the forums. Not so on one particular Saturday.

The spacious building was a great place to work. I had my own desk. The walls were lined with huge windows so we could see outside easily. 

On this particular day, I happened to be in the building alone. According to the weather service, it was about to get nasty. Perfect conditions for tornadoes in the area. 

I kept an eye on the weather map on one monitor while I worked on the other. As I looked toward the wall of windows, I watched the sky grow darker, and darker…

And much, much darker. 

So, I walked over to one of the wall of windows to get a good look at what was coming in. It looked unnatural. I could feel the intensity. 

I have lived in the midwest all my life. Every year we have tornado season. Every year, there are sirens tested weekly to make sure they work. Tornadoes almost become like background noise. 

This time was different. This time I was scared. 

So, I walked back to my desk, picked up my laptop, and took it into the bathroom. No windows, solid walls, and in the middle of the building. My bunker. 

Thankfully, nothing happened, at least not where I was. After it was all over, I went back to my desk. But that experience reminded me of how serious and deadly tornadoes truly are. 

Natural disasters are an unfortunate part of living on this planet. Every place has its own significant danger. Tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanoes.

They destroy towns and cities.

They destroy lives. 

But why do they happen? 

Postmodern culture is experiencing a meaning crisis.

Why have we lost sight of Meaning?
Is there any hope of getting it back?
Better yet, is the loss of Meaning really a bad thing?

If you long for a path forward, Drinking from an Empty Glass: Living Out of a Meaningless Spirituality is the book you’re looking for.

Act of God?

Insurance companies call natural disasters “Acts of God”. And in the Bible, we see various theologies that do indeed believe that natural disasters are an expression of the will of God. 

But, what if you believe that God is love? How can such flippant destruction of life in any way whatsoever be an expression of divine love? It makes zero sense. 

This is a serious theological problem for Christians that demands an answer. And, that answer typically takes us back to The Fall.

Remember, The Fall is why we cannot live in Paradise. And what people sometimes forget is that a theology of The Fall isn't just about human beings. It’s about all of creation. The Fall is a cosmic level event. As a result of Adam and Eve’s Original Sin, the entire universe is fallen and sinful.

Indeed, sinful to the core.

A sinful universe

Years ago I was having a conversation with a friend of mine who identified as a pagan. Somehow in the midst of the conversation, I said that for me God is love. 

She replied, “I don't see God as love. When I look around at nature, what I see is brutality. That to me does not reflect a God who is love.”

She had a great point. If we look at the universe around us as an expression of God we truly can see brutality.

• Have you ever watched Shark Week?

• Have you ever looked at any nature program and seen animals hunt and kill?

• Have you ever thought about what is required from an animal in order to survive just one more day? 

Darwin said that life is nasty, brutish, and short. And, when you look at nature you see that it indeed is. 

The theological perspective that sees the fullness of God reflected through creation is called a “natural theology”. God is as God expresses God's-Self through nature. 

This is where the greater significance of sinful creation comes in…

If creation is sinful, not everything in creation is an expression of the Divine Will. 

Tornadoes level villages not because God wills it, but because creation is sinful and has gone off the rails. 

Lions eat lambs rather than lying down with them not because it is God's will, but because creation is sinful.