Williams Calls for Belief to those Wavering in Faith by Tsunami Disaster

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rev Rowan Williams has acknowledged that many people are questioning their faith in God and His love and justice after the terrible results of the tsunami earthquake disaster.

Williams said that the "paralysing magnitude" of the catastrophe had provoked many into feeling outraged and helpless. He expressed, "We can’t see how this is going to be dealt with, we can’t see how to make it better. We know, with a rather sick feeling, that we shall have to go on facing it and we can’t make it go away or make ourselves feel good."

He continued, "The question ‘How can you believe in a God who permits suffering on this scale?’ is very much around at the moment, and it would be surprising if it weren’t – indeed, it would be wrong if it weren’t."

The Archbishop emphasised that God "is not a puppet-master in regard either to human actions or to the processes of the world. If we are to exist in an environment where we can live lives of productive work and consistent understanding – human lives as we know them – the world has to have a regular order and pattern of its own. Effects follow causes in a way that we can chart, and so can make some attempt at coping with. So there is something odd about expecting that God will constantly step in if things are getting dangerous."

He also said, "The traditional answers will get us only so far. The extraordinary fact is that belief has survived such tests again and again – not because it comforts or explains but because believers cannot deny what has been shown or given to them."

Williams concluded saying, "These convictions are terribly assaulted by all those other facts of human experience that seem to point to a completely arbitrary world, but people still feel bound to them, not for comfort or ease, but because they have imposed themselves on the shape of a life and the habits of a heart."

Surveys have been conducted recently which have shown, however, that people within the most affected regions to natural disasters, are much more likely to be unaffected in their faith by the tragic events. But westerners who have been far less affected by the incident have been seen to have more of a crisis of faith in response.

Researchers have pointed out that those who simply seek ‘occasional consolation’ in religion are much more likely to be lost in their faith when these troubles and hardships occur. However, those who have seen God working through acts of compassion, and those belonging to supportive faith communities, or who have experienced reconciliation and healing throughout traumatic times are unwavering in faith.