55 thousand dead and counting….
I went through a god-blog aggregator today.
127 god-blogs - 9 have posted on the immense human tragedy in Southeast Asia.
In the face of such enormous human loss, we fall silent. Our brains are not hard-wired to grasp such shocking information. Then grief sets in and we all cope in our own way. You may want to take time to listen, by reading some of the bloggers listed in the posts below that are coping with the unimaginable.
As you absorb what has happened, and what is happening; if you pray, ask God how your resources can be best put to use as you prepare to give.
Messy Christian writes:
I had a disturbing talk with a relative yesterday, and she sounded convinced that it was God’s judgement that this disaster happened. She said that with all the terrorism in the world, perhaps God is sending a message to these terrorists that he’s fed up.
Are you saying that the people who died in Penang, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Male etc are all terrorists? And in what way is this supposed to send the terrorists a message?! Despite that, she is still convinced that God’s pretty annoyed at the terrorists. So he’s punishing them.
connexions posts a sense of perspective on where God is:
It is certainly a reminder that though human beings are undoubtedly having an impact on the world’s environment, when nature herself releases her fury no power in human hands can stand against her. In insurance terms these events are called “Acts of God”, and some would conclude that the judgement of God can indeed be seen at work when the world is shaken. Some appear to take delight in seeing the hammer fall. Others will draw the conclusion that events like this prove that faith is vain, that God - if he exists at all - cannot be trusted.
I too recoil from a God whose aim is so poor that violence is poured out so capriciously. But I recall too from the prospect that these terrible events are merely the outworking of natural forces that ultimately have no meaning. Life against such a background would be futile and without ultimate purpose.
The only way I can reconcile these two is to see the dreadful and terrifying unleashing of the earth’s power in storm and earthquake as part of what St Paul described as the creation’s groaning as it waits to be released from death and decay, a creation that will be made perfect in Jesus Christ. In the meantime, the call which God makes on his people is to respond to those in need with compassion and generosity, to turn away from despair and embrace the hurting and broken of the world.
The links and blogs in the posts here below offer first hand accounts, and as important, they list regional relief agencies you can donate too.
More Canadian relief agencies
Canadian Tamil Congress
416-751-8777
Canadian Relief Organization for Peace in Sri Lanka
416-429-2822
The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace
Canadians of Asian descent can get news and information in their native language at the following radio stations: (CMR) (101.3 FM), CHIN-AM (Radio 1540) FM 91.9 and Sur Sagar Radio Inc. (Transitional Digital Radio, Channel 2)
More UK Charities
And more in the US
International Orthodox Christian Charities
One Great Hour of Sharing - American Baptist relief effots
More blogs and wikis
The House Blog has friends in house churches that will be helping with infrastructure rebuilding when the time comes.
2004 Indian ocean earthquake wikipedia
Diary of a couple, Timmo and Natasha who working are with Save the Children in Sri Lanka
photo via Bourque Newswatch
Published 3 years, 10 months ago
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Bene, I think that a lot of people haven’t blogged on the topic because there is so much about it out there… on the blogs… on CNN… and in other media.
You are much kinder than I am Jordon.
North American broadcast media was very slow on this…and they are now making up for lost time by scrambling to purchase amateur video from surviving tourists.
Talking heads on CNN doesn’t tell us how to help.
I don’t care how information gets out, I care that it does. We all come to different terms with it, I care that we believers deal with what is in front of us.
I’m not asking god-bloggers to beat their chests and wail or develop verbal diarehha or religious ideation. Nor am I asking them to brag about how they help. Nor am I expecting them to link to aid agencies and other blogs.
I’m a news person. I grieve by doing, by channeling my own anger and shock at disasters, and I admit that I don’t understand initial silence or the me-and-God-thing. I have learned that giving people the who what why when where and how, the most amazing and ordinary people rise to help in wonderful ways.
The internet was by far the fastest communication responder and provider, it has been amazing to watch.
I do need to be kinder Jordon - there is a lot of information now out there and will be for some time. Shooting my mouth off in posts is no indicator of a right spirit. I’ll shut up and let the professional relief and religious people take over.
Thanks for your thoughts, Bene:
As for myself, I did not blog on it until just a few minutes ago for a number of reasons:
1. I was struck speechless by the enormity of the situation.
2. I’ve been trying to raise awareness of the situation in my face-to-face relationships.
3. I finally came up with something today after I’d been silent long enough to hear God and wrestle with it - something that does not come naturally!
4. I still feared that anything I could add to our babble (or Babel) would end up just being trite.
I suspect that others are in a similar boat…
Peace -
::Matt T
BTW, you can add the One Great Hour of Sharing http://www.abc-oghs.org/ to the list. This is an interdenominational aid fund sponsored by a lot of the “Mainline” churches: a donation was announced on the American Baptists’ website today.
I need a lot of quiet after doing what I think I can do, which is to get info out for others.
I take time away from this kind of blogging to be silent,to meditate and pray. I have a tendency to withdraw, feel angry and helpless and need that time seeking God’s will and heart, while turning the computer and TV off for awhile.
I also ask for guidance with the info and research, I pray the right people needing the info will find it and that my opinions I tend to slide into a post will submitted to his Lordship and scripture. As a news junkie and former workaholic it’s kind of working the 12 steps, or I’d forget to focus on Who is important.
Bene, I was kind of thinking the same things for a day or two after it happened. But given so many people (bloggers) were on holiday, and then the sheer magnitude of the devastation - It’s understandable that so many people are standing with their mouths hanging open in shock, not knowing what to say. Some people freeze when an accident happens in front of them, others spring into action. Personalities are different.
It was hard for me to write, just feeling like the helpless idiot that I am. What on earth can you say but “I don’t know what to say?”
What matters is our prayers and our actions. God help us with that and the rest.
This earth, as part of the universe, is a system that God set up. Like the rain falls and flowers bloom, the earth’s plates shift, creating an earthquake and the ensuing tsunami. It’s not personal. It is not a deliberate, individual “act of God” any more than a rainshower or a blooming garden is an “act” inflicted by God. God is not judging the individuals overwhelmed by the tsunami. Instead, God asks us to reach out and care for those overwhelmed — as he asks us to care for anyone in pain. God didn’t send the tsunami as a punishment or a test. But when one happens, it becomes a test of how Christians respond. With judgment, with condemnation, with neglect, or with mercy? I’d say Christ’s example is that we act with mercy.
Perhaps I missed it, but you seem to have left out Catholic Relief Services.
Thanks Funky Dung - I had a Canadian Catholic Relief Organization up.
I’ve added the US one - thank you.