GROUNDED IN THE EARTH,
REACHING FOR THE SKY!
(Journeying on a spiritual path.)
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December 2004
The hijacking of the tsunami
The bodies are not yet counted. The homeless are not yet sheltered.
The denuded are not yet clothed. The children have not been
fed. And yet already, the hijacking of the tsunami has begun.
It's out there, on the internet. It's reaching for your mind,
for your belief.
There's the fundamentalist Christian proclaiming that Christians
were miraculously saved while people of other religions were
not. There are groups proclaiming that the tsunami was an example
of God's wrath at gays. There are Hindu adherents proclaiming
that it is punishment for the arrest of one of their number.
There are those that claim that a loving god would not have
permitted such horror and that therefore this proves either
that God is not a loving God or that there is no God. Each group
is trying to "spin" this horrible tragedy to support
their beliefs.
My belief is that such exploitation is in itself blasphemy.
Yet, how can we juxtapose the concept of a loving Higher Power
and the catastrophic tsunami, with its incredible toll of human
suffering? How can we encompass the two in one comprehensive
view of the universe?
If someone wants to get into the issue of specific religions,
I notice that there are few other places in the world where
such a disaster could have affected such a huge variety of religions.
Looking at the twelve or more countries directly affected by
the tsunami, some are predominantly Muslim, others Hindu, others
Buddhist, and yet others Christian. Most - though not all -
have a tradition of acceptance of faiths other than that of
the majority.
Of the survivors, western media undoubtedly focus on those
of their own country who survived. Thus, in the U.S. we read
of those Americans who survived, and, unlike the British media,
pay little attention British survivors, including the British
ten-year-old whose awareness of tsunami warning signs saved
hundreds on one particular beach. Australia focuses mainly on
the Thailand aspects of the tragedy, because that is where the
largest number of Australian victims are probably to be found.
Thus the focus on some of the amazing survival stories tends
to be on those who are "like us" and hence of "our"
religion - whatever that may be. So it is understandable that
we get a skewed perspective. What American or British newspaper
is going to expend valuable space on the story - unless it is
outstandingly beyond belief - of someone from another country
when there are so, so many of them? It is sad, but it is true,
that most news media present information as though they think
that the lives of people from their country are more valuable,
or at least more newsworthy, than are those of people from other
countries.
None of this means that any one religious group was "targeted"
for either victim-hood or survival. It simply means that we
see what we are shown, or what we want to seek out. Remember
that statistics, like your computer monitor, may not always
reflect what is. For example, a comparatively small number of
deaths in a community or country with a small population may
yet represent a huge proportion of the population, so that community
may be more affected than another community where the actual
numbers are much larger but, because they are based on a larger
population, actually represent a smaller proportion.
Either way, the deaths, the suffering, and the long-term impact
are inconceivable to most of us. Unfortunately, human thinking
does not take easily to the inconceivable or the unthinkable.
We seem to have to struggle to give reasons for events, particularly
catastrophic events. We have difficulty accepting the unknowable
or the inexplicable, and so some of us invent answers and reasons
that serve our purposes and help us to maintain our existing
world view. That way, the world feels a little safer than if
we allow ourselves to accept the unknowable.
As to the question of why God "allowed" or "caused"
this tragedy... here's my perception. (And stay with me here,
because it will appear that I'm off on one of my notorious tangents
- but in fact, as always, you'll see where I'm going if you
stick with me.)
A day or so after the tsunami, there was an item in a "Dear
Abby" column in my local paper. The letter was from a woman
who cared deeply for her ten year old daughter. As a result
there was a long list of things that she would not let her daughter
do, and it concluded with the fact that when her daughter is
at another child's home, even though she knows that the parents
are there, she calls the child every hour - yes, every hour
- to be sure that she is all right. It was pointed out to her
that she is probably stifling her daughter's independence and
that she needs to back off.
I agreed with the columnist. As a parent, I believed strongly
that children need to learn to exercise their decision-making
abilities just as much as their walking, thinking, and feeling
abilities. Sometimes it is hard for a parent to hold back, to
let a child, or an adult offspring, make decisions that appear
to be headed for disaster. Yet, if we do not, we are not only
preventing the individual from learning and growing as a result
of consequences, but we are insulting their ability to make
decisions. If we raised them right, then, depending on their
age, they become capable of making more and more complex choices
on their own. If we assume they cannot, we not only display
lack of respect to them, but to our own parenting abilities.
My own belief is that our Higher Power has enough respect for
us to not be constantly interfering in the affairs of the world
that was set in motion so very long ago.
I think - and I am no theologian - that our world, our physical
universe, was set in place long, long ago, by whatever mechanism
led to it. While I do believe that our Higher Power is aware
of/connected to events, I don't believe that He/She plays constant
interference, causing this thing to happen or that thing, in
ways that are in contradiction to those physical laws that were
set up at inception. Not that She/He can't do this. When that
happens, we call it a miracle, because it is counter to known
physical laws. However, perhaps there are special reasons for
that kind of interference, and I do believe that the reasons
for it are not usually comprehensible to human thought - at
least for most of us.
No, the Higher Power that I envisage and believe in did not
"cause" the tsunami in the sense of pushing a couple
of buttons to make it happen. No, the High Power that I envisage
and believe in did not seek out members of any specific religion
to die, or to be saved. Nature just is, and that was established
long, long ago. We cannot know the answers to all the "why"
questions raised by this horrible event.
What we can hope is that some good will come of it in the long
run. If the horror of the event causes Christian and Muslim
to work alongside each other, each laboring to save lives, if
it brings Hindu and Buddhist and Atheist together in the same
cause, perhaps in the long run they will remember each other
as human beings working for good. Perhaps if rebel and government
supporter together pull a survivor out of a collapsed building,
or carry food and water to a starving child, perhaps they will
see that working together they can do more to achieve the good
of their community than working against each other. If the tsunami
can collapse a few political or religious barriers as effectively
as it collapsed buildings, perhaps in the long run some good
can come out of this horror.
Asking why, pointing the finger, crowing with pride, muttering
"That'll teach them," none of these things will help
the survivors, nor will it help bury the dead. Working together
to do what is needed - that, I believe, is God's will.
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The following information is taken from a site at http://www.swankyconservative.com/quake/
This is a dynamic site with the information being constantly
updated, so by the time you read this, the numbers will have
changed. As I write it, the numbers are:
Sri Lanka - 141,008 confirmed dead, 4,000 still missng, 1.5
million displaced.
India - 14,448 confirmed, 14,488 estimated dead 5511 missing.
Indonesia 80,228 confirmed, 400,000 estimated dead, 100,000
injured.
Thailand - 4,800 confirmed, 11,000 estimated dead, 6475 missing.
Somalia - 200 confirmed dead, 50,000 displaced.
Burma - 86 confirmed 45 missing, 788 displaced.
Maldives - 76 confirmed dead, 32 missing.
Malaysia - 66 dead, 218 estimated
These are not the only countries directly affected, but they
are the ones most powerfully affected.
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SPECIAL TIMES THIS MONTH
Dates and descriptions obtained from www.interfaithcalendar.org/
Do not be confused by the fact that some celebrations occur
on
different days according to different religions. For example,
celebrations for those of the Orthodox Christian faith, some of
whom adhere to the Julian calendar and some to the Gregorian calendar,
often differ from those of most western Christian faiths. For
more information about the history behind this confusion, see
www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article7070.asp.
Celebrations marked with one asterisk actually begin at sundown
the previous day. Those marked with two asterisks may vary by
date
according to location. Also, because the Islamic calendar is moon-based,
some dates may be off by one day, depending upon location.
January 2005
1
Mary, Mother of God - Catholic Christian
Feast of St Basil - Orthodox Christian
Gantan-sai - Ganjitsu - Shinto New Year festival observed with
prayers for inner renewal, prosperity and health.
5
Twelfth Night - Christian observance of the close of Christmastide.
Guru Gobindh Singh birthday - Sikh honoring of the birth of the
founder of the Khalsa who lived from 1469 -1539 c.e.
6
Epiphany * - Christian - The homage of the magi to the infant
Jesus is honored by some. For others the Baptism of Jesus is the
remembered event. A season of the Christian year from the close
of Christmas to the beginning of Lent.
Feast of the Theophany - Orthodox Christian Feast to recall the
revelation of the Holy Trinity in the baptism of the Lord.
7
Nativity of Christ - Orthodox Christian
9
Baptism of the Lord Jesus - Christian commemoration of the beginning
of the public ministry of Jesus.
13
Maghi - Sikh commemoration of a battle in which forty Sikhs died
for Guru Gobindh Singh Ji.
16
World Religion Day - Baha'i sponsored day dedicated to the unity
and oneness of all world religions.
Blessing of the the Animals - Christian observance of showing
respect for the domestic animals that mean much to people. Observed
on various dates - especially related to St. Francis.
17
Feast of Mithra - Zoroastrian festival with focus on Mithra as
the angel of light. From ancient times in Iran it has been a time
of gratitude for life and light.
18-25
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity - Christian
19
Waqf al Arafa - Islamic observance day during Hajj when pilgrims
pray for forgiveness and mercy.
19-22
Hajj - Islamic pilgrimage rites at Mecca on 7-12th days of month
of Dhu al-Hajja. Concludes with Eid ul Adha when those not traveling
to Mecca take part.
21-24
Id al Adha - Islamic day to remember Abraham and the almost sacrifice
of Isaac.. Meat is given to the poor.
25
New Years (3 days) ** - Buddhist
Tu B'shvat * - Jewish celebration of the coming of spring by
preparation of foods native to Israel. It is also known as "New
Year for Trees" - a method for determining the age of trees
for tithing purposes.
Conversion of St Paul -Christian observance of the experience
of the Paul when he was confronted by a vision of Jesus while
on his way to persecute Christians and became a leading presenter
of Jesus.
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Copyright 2005 Diana Gardner Robinson, PhD., PCC. This newsletter may
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