It’s a good question; unfortunately, some of the answers have not been very good. Pat Robertson actually said it happened because long ago Haitians made a pact with the devil so that their slave revolt would succeed.

Assuming that people must have done something to deserve the bad things that happen to them is one way to try to make sense out of senseless tragedies. It’s a practice that goes back at least as far as biblical times: in the Old Testament book of Job, when one bad thing after another happens to Job, his friends suggest that God is disciplining him and that surely he or his children must have done something to anger God.

If we reject that idea that an angry God causes (or at least does not prevent) suffering, how can we explain it? Why does God let such terrible tragedies happen?

I don’t presume to have a satisfactory answer to that question, and I have yet to meet a pastor, seminary professor, or anyone else who does. The best we can do is acknowledge the reality of pain and suffering, and our inability to know the mind of God, even as we also acknowledge our belief in a loving God who grieves with us and works through us to help others who are also hurting.

If you would like to help the people of Haiti, and be sure that 100% of your gift will be used to do so, click here to go to the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) website.