A Question of Faith

The occurrence of natural disasters in Japan led to a softening of the absurdly sentimental habitats of this world. There are some who heartily presented their condolences to the Japanese where as there are also others who pondered on whether this suffering was unfair. While I understand the timely need and apparent reasoning for these concerns, I cannot help but comment on some of the issues raised recently. 

 

The main question asked pertains to the justification of such suffering which destroyed homes of numerous ‘innocent’ people. While contemplating on this matter of non-deserving punishment bestowed upon the blameless nation, one tends to forget the designation of one’s own self and the Supreme Being in question – which also causes one to neglect the fact that He is the biggest judge of all. Countless number of times I have heard people verbally assault the extremists, who intend to punish the wrong-doers, because they have no right to judge and thus the need of an omnipotent being is brought into the picture. Such acts are condemned and inquiries are raised because the judgment portrayed in this scenario is negative. The notion of individuals who are victims to the suffering being innocent is a form of positive judgment, which is seen in the very situation discussed. People automatically overlook this kind of judgment because it is positive and widely accepted; no one would condemn nor go against it. But one may question the validity of this judgment on the basis of flaws which the humans possess; the flaws which prevent living beings from reaching the heights and complexities of the Big Man’s master plan. And so I pose this question to the judges made of flesh and bones: Are you not doing what you strictly condemn? That is, are you not judging others by claiming them to be innocent and non-deserving of any suffering when you yourself condemn the fanatics for judging others and thus punishing them?

Unfortunately, this remarkable debate does not end here. One query leads to another and due to some strong believers not being able to have a control, a decrease in the number of believers becomes inevitable. Dedicated believers often discourage the act of questioning the Supreme Being since a consequence of unavoidable destruction in etched in their mind by the supposedly true believers. None of the questions are addressed, let alone answered and numerous believers face a shocking shatter of faith as a result. This broken faith tends to raise a plethora of questions – the most prominent one relates to the personality of God. After such devastating incidents, many individuals tend to question the mercy of God; why does God make the innocent people suffer? Yet again, the Almighty is interrogated for the demise of its creation and labeled as brutal. What I fail to understand is man’s faith which has an extremely high level of fragility and is easily butchered by a devastating accident. Moreover, I also find myself at a loss of comprehension when contemplating the generosity of God; a judge who never discriminates on the basis of who follows his path. He does not halt the provision of needs for the non-believers; therefore the notion of Him being cruel seems utterly asinine. How can he destroy the ones who are innocent and provide for the individuals who foster no faith in Him? There must – absolutely must – be a scale, unknown to the mankind, upon which all of these decisions are made. 

 

People may ask that He knew this destruction was about to take place, in fact He was the one who made it happen, then why did He not prove to care for his people and prevent it from happening? As much as I think this question to be true, I remain unsuccessful at joining this side because I see myself having a lack of proper judgment abilities as compared to the Lord in question. Having the powerful ability of knowing the future plays a major role in reaching to a strong judgment on this matter; an ability which humans do not and can never possess. All I know is He had strong reasons for this natural disaster and the most us humans can do is to pray for betterment for the victims. Whether they deserved this suffering or not should not be our concern as the Supreme Being cannot be challenged.