Natural Disasters : a Biblical Perspective by David Pawson 2005 3 dvds 3 hours £17.99
available to watch at davidpawson.co.uk or on YouTube
“If God is all-powerful and all- loving, how can He allow things like earthquakes to happen ?”
This question was acutely raised by the devastating tsunami of December 2004 and, in response,
this dvd was produced shortly afterwards, following broadcasts on a Christian television channel.
With David’s scientific background as well as his Biblical expertise one would expect a thorough
and thoroughly Biblical presentation. You will not be disappointed although you may well need
to take time to reflect upon his conclusions.
By way of introduction, David deals with three unsatisfactory answers to the question.
Firstly, it is suggested that all suffering is a mystery, so natural disasters are beyond our
understanding; it is also sometimes argued that disasters often generate much goodwill and,
finally, it is suggested that God himself suffers with us.
Each of these proposed answers is unsatisfactory for one reason or another.
The next question to be asked is “Is there someone in charge ?”
Is there someone to hold accountable ?
Do the ‘isms’ of the world – atheism, agnosticism, polytheism, dualism, monotheism – have any
helpful answer to this question ?
The conclusion is that a serious problem has to be addressed where there is a belief in just one
God. However, some views of the nature of the Judeo-Christian God and some views of human
nature also fail to satisfy robust analysis in relation to the question of disasters.
David Pawson suggests that the the best way of dealing with the problem is to have an honest
and realistic approach to understanding Scripture, specifically in what Scripture has to say about
how good God is and how bad we are.
This approach offers a solution that satisfies both reason and conscience.
In case you are worried about the interpretations and explanations put forward in these talks,
you are encouraged, quite explicitly, not to rely on the speaker’s interpretations and explanations,
but to scrutinise and evaluate Scripture for yourself.
You will need patience to follow (all of 3 hours) what is a fairly exhaustive and thoughtful
exploration and logical analysis of the issues involved in this troubling, perennial question.
The time will, however, be well spent, even if at the end, you can’t agree. However, should you
find it difficult to go along with this explanation, can you find a more convincing one
that satisfies both reason and conscience ?