As the death toll from the recent tornado in Oklahoma mounts, Facebook and newsfeeds are full of prayers for the victims and their families. Meanwhile insurance companies and emergency services are designating this tragedy as an act of God. The irony should not be lost on anyone.
On my own Facebook feed brave people of faith have called the event "disorienting" and even a "conundrum." This is an honest assessment. When others have said "now is not the right time" (when is the right time? - life is full of tragedy) these have said "I don't understand." This much is in keeping with a somewhat refreshing part of the Judeo-Christian tradition, perhaps we might call it the "Davidic" tradition. This is a tradition not afraid to ask God the tough questions. It recognizes both God's omnipotence, his promises, and God's responsibility to his people. It holds God accountable when disaster strikes and seeks to understand why such things take place. The "right time" is precisely when the tragedy unfolds. In this there is a certain consistency. If one truly believes in God and what one learns from the church concerning his fidelity, his power, and his presence, it is a natural reaction to suddenly shout "Hey! What's going on and where are you?" That more believers don't react this way I think must be explained by years of apologetic teaching most Christians have constantly been exposed to. But as the great Reformed theologian Karl Barth once said, Christian apologetics are fundamentally based on insecurity. So too, I think, is the reaction "now is not the right time."
Churches are full of unbelievers and the falsely modest. The former only think they should believe but do not, and the latter, while also not believing, act a martyr in their disorientation. The former are tolerable, the latter are insufferable.
It is time for honest change. Obviously the old view of God is untenable. Experience and good sense continue to prove this. This does not mean the Christian must become an atheist. It also does not mean aligning oneself with the Davidic stream of tradition. If you're not there already, a shift would only be disingenuous and in the end, unnecessary. Continually crying out to God with every disaster will only grow wearisome when one achieves the same results. Plus, doing this because David did it, or Job, does not make it authentic when you do it. Imitation in such matters is unbecoming of a person of faith.
What view of God should one have? God is obviously hidden from us, unwilling or unable to fulfill his obligations or answer the prayers of those who call on him. This God is obscure. This God is the Hidden God. I will not say this is the dead God, though in many ways he might as well be. I will merely say here that he is hidden, as are God's ways. One should challenge those who say otherwise as hypocrites and deceivers, or at least, wishful thinkers. They are obviously not interested in the Real, or are plainly deceived. I recently spoke with a pastor who wondered at the loss of youth from his community. I did not wonder. No program or worship service will bring them back or attract more. People are drawn to authenticity that corresponds with experience and what we know of the world. Church has always adapted to its cultural surroundings and will continue to do so. But today a radical change is needed. People of faith will make it. Cowards and hypocrites will praise God.
