WHY BAD THINGS HAPPEN, PART III
"But what about the toddler diagnosed with a glioblastoma ... how can such things be compatible with Grace?"
Human beings are incredibly complex and amazing organisms. No two are exactly alike, and none are perfect. The flaws can be harmless, cosmetic, crippling or fatal. They can be caused by heredity, gentic disorders, enviromental factors (including the behavior of the mother) and random selection. Our Daniel's fate was essentially determined when an error in cell division resulted in an extra chromosome 18. When that happened, the only question remaining was whether Molly would suffer a miscarriage, or the child would be stillborn or live for a brief time. Although rare, that syndrome occurs in over 200 pregnancies per day worldwide, and we were assured that it did not happen because God was displeased with us. God does not get involved in the "creation" of any one of us. That does not mean that She never has or never will, but don't blame God if you can't wear a Size 2 (Molly) or dunk a basketball (Desmond).
While we're on the subject, take care of the body you have been given. Bad things can happen when you don't!
Instead of continuing to dwell on our own experience, let's consider the toddler - a young boy diagnosed with a glioblastoma. God did not cause that disease, and the parents are not being punished by reason of it. Even if they were deserving of bad karma, God would not sacrifice a child for that purpose (nor did She kill the firstborn of Egypt). Every child is a blessing and his parents knew Grace in the act of conception. The parents should extend Grace to the child through love and nurturing for however long he lives, and will receive it in return. The physicians and nurses who care for him will also know Grace through their acts of compassion. When the child dies, his soul will be reborn in another. As the soul is eternal, the brevity of a particular life is inconsequential to it. But the Grace given to and created by the child will live on as memories.
God could cure our toddler, of course, but then why should She not be expected to cure or heal everyone with a disease or disability? Disease is a natural process that is both random and indiscriminate. Whether a particular individual is mostly good or bad, or whether that person even believes in God, is not a factor that determines susceptibility to a disease, how the disease affects a person or the likelihood of a cure. Other than extraordinary situations, God does not interfere with the course of nature, and particularly not on behalf of specific individuals. So beware of those who claim the ability to cure or heal through the power of God, if you will only make sufficient contributions to their ministries. They are mostly charlatans and tricksters who have been corrupted by vilons associated with greed and/or meglomania.
Humankind has survived three plague pandemics. The disease pathogen was carried by rats and initially spread by fleas. It could also be transmitted through direct contact with a victim, so the caregivers were more likely to catch the disease than those who stayed away. The bacteria that caused the plague did not care whether its host was a brown rat or a black one, a white human or a yellow one, a peasant or a noblewoman, a thief or a monk. Again, God neither caused nor permitted these plagues to happen. Nature did, and nature can be an indiscriminate killer. Humans are far more intelligent than rats or fleas, yet it took us more than a thousand years and millions of deaths before we learned how to protect ourselves against plague. This illustrates how tenuous our position as the dominant species is. It is unknown whether God intervened to stop any of those pandemics, but it may very well take cooperation among all of us to stop the next one.
Natural disasters are similar to diseases. Earthquakes,volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, droughts and the like are acts of nature - not of God. It is geography that determines where these events occur, rather than the morality of the victims. Human conduct such as pollution of the atmosphere and oceans will surely cause or contribute to future disasters, some foreseeable and others not. At this time, fires can be of natural or human origin. But if God ever decides to bring fire, it will be far too late for these words to do any good. On that cheerful note ...
Next: Where Do We Go From Here?