God!!! Why Haiti Again?

By Pastor Eric Mangek Ngum* (Intro and Editing by Innocent Chia)
The human toll in the natural calamity that has blanketed Haiti may be reaching the six figures (100,000) by the time a complete count is done. Unfortunately, that “complete” count may never be complete even as eye reporters are conveying tales not only about mass graves, but also the doubling, tripling and squeezing of corpses into old crypts. Its ugliness is so compounding one easily forgets recent man-made and natural disasters that have sworn the kiss of death on the impoverished Island of Black descent that gained independence in 1804.

Worldwide cheap calling cards

 
  
In the several paragraphs that follow, Pastor Eric Ngum Mangek takes the approach of the healthcare professional that must apply iodine to a fresh wound to cut off the bleeding and stop possible infection while the patient is cursing under their breadth. I, Innocent Chia, personally thank God for “Passing Over” the offices of several Cameroonians working in Haiti. Some names that come to mind are Collins, Mengale and our regular contributor on the Chiareport – Julius Fondong. Another friend, Laura was devastated on her Facebook page as she watched helplessly on TV from Cameroon. But could God not Passover the entire Haiti and spare its already afflicted people? 

It is hundreds of years ago now but, the choices made by some in Europe and the west (America) to go to Africa and buy slaves there - as well as the choices of those in Africa to sell their own (foes) into slavery for the love of money or in some cases empty whisky bottles - has left succeeding generations of Americans to suffer the unhealthy problem of racism. You need not agree with me that the effects of racism in America are not only a political or philosophical one. The effects are not just something for the mass media to boast their ratings, but one that has and still results in a lot of physical, physiological, psychological, emotional, cultural, sociological, economic, and even developmental suffering. All of this is because of the choice of those who made a fortune buying and trading in human beings like property. I think we can all agree on the point that the poor choices of others can leave for posterity untold suffering. Sometimes it is not even what they chose, it is just who they were. Take the case of genetics. We inherit from our kin and, sometimes of no fault of our own, we suffer severely.

It is the same thing when it comes to the choice of the first humans on the face of the earth. As someone has rightly said, they “pushed the button” with too far greater consequences when Adam and Eve chose to rebel against the stated command of God. When the first man made the choice to sin the consequence of his sin has remained with his posterity to this day. Until the second coming of Christ, man is not only a fallen being - depraved and unable to help himself or others - but the world he now inhabits also has fallen and totally out of his control. Adam’s sin, though it did not result in his immediate physical demise, resulted in his spiritual death as he was immediately kicked out of the garden and lost all intimacy with God.

Adam also lost, immediately, dominion and the ability to subdue the earth. In Gen. 1:28-29 we read, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food” (NIV).

But in Gen. 3:17-19 we read this, “To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it, Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.  It will produce thorns and thistles for you and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return” (NIV).

That which man has been given dominion over to subdue and rule and enjoy, he has lost it because of his choice to disobey God. Even in Gen. 9:2 when God spared Noah and his family, we read that “Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.  The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything” (NIV). Man will only be feared and dreaded by animals, birds and fish; he no longer has dominion over them, let alone over the earth.

The apostle Paul seems to agree with this when in Romans 8:18-20 he wrote: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.  For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (NIV).

If you are still with me, here is the point:  we do not have any control over the earth we inhabit as a consequence of sins of those who went before us and in whose footsteps we walk. Just like we get to deal with the problem of racism not because we created it but somehow perpetuate it because of our own sinful nature. I guess it is as the result of man’s sinful nature that brought on the earth a curse ‘frustration’ - as Paul puts it - that even the country of Haiti now mourns in the aftermath of the 7.0 earthquake in a nation that has been emptied of its natural vegetation.

The easy answer is that its natural vegetation has been corroded out of desperation for survival. It may not be the main cause but one of the contributors to the earthquake all the same. We may say the turmoil and the agitation of the earth - the frustration of the earth that is in rapid frequency in this age and time is producing earthquakes - is the result of the fall of man and with it the fall of the world. The world is losing, as it were, the perfect nature of its creation for everything God created. We know that for everything He created, He looked and saw that it was good.

But there is yet another question that keeps God in the hock, and the question relates to his power – if He is a powerful God, how come he cannot stop evil, or an earthquake that brings untold suffering on humanity, now on the people of Haiti? You recall situations in your life in which you or others have been spared from natural disasters, like those we see on the streets of Haiti carrying their wounded and dead. God spared them. He intervened in even this situation to save the lives of other Haitians. Why then does he not do same for everyone or in every situation? He should stop the earthquake to begin with if he is a powerful God, and a good one for that matter!

He will, someday. In a time to come, he will put a stop to all evil. That is what I read in my Bible in Revelation 22:3 &4, “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads” (NIV). The question may be asked - why can’t He come now, right now?

The answer is found in 2Peter 3:9. Simply, he is giving those who are still stiff-necked a chance to repent and be saved from eternal damnation. If he were to come right now, you, the stubborn one would have lost your chance of ever repenting of your sins. So rather than raise our voices and blame God for this tragedy, it is a loud call - if I may say so - for us to examine ourselves and come to terms with the truth that we are not in control of our lives, let alone the earth we inhabit. It is also time to get to work and reach out in love to those who are hurting in the poor country of Haiti.

Although I have tried to answer the question of God’s power, goodness and the presence of evil and suffering in the world, it comes to a point where God takes responsibility and does not provide us with an absolute answer. The Bible however tells us there is some kind of benefit from suffering, especially to those who are believers. Paul, in Romans 8:28 stated that in all things God works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. He does not say that all things are good. No. He says that in the good and ugly, the pleasant and the unpleasant, the evil we bring on ourselves and the one others bring on us, manmade and natural disasters, in all of these things, God has a way known only to him which he works good out of everything that he allows to happen to us.
Therefore, even in the streets of Haiti, voices are heard singing hymns of praise in honor of God, yes while others are carrying in the arms the lifeless bodies of their loved ones or lamenting with them as they cry for help, trapped under the revolting earth.

Do not think that I am unaware of the reality of suffering. How could I be when even the Bible tells me there will be suffering in this life! The good news is that Jesus says he has overcome the world and that our suffering, though severe, is only momentary, then we are taken out of this world or Jesus comes and puts an end to all suffering. He knows what it means to suffer. Isaiah in 53:1-3 predicted that he will be a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering. In the gospels he suffered not only rejection and disdain from his own people, the Israelites, but cruel death by crucifixion in the hands of the Romans. When we suffer, even as the world suffers with those in Haiti, we can be comforted that there is one who understands everything, who is in charge of it all and who is moving events towards a concrete resolution.

Our prayers, as the Lord grants the means - and he has granted it in abundant material and financial blessings to us - let us then pray and reach out to the people of Haiti in this time of great need. Their pain and suffering, for this poor nation at the doorstep of the richest nation, must feel like labor pains.

Therefore pray that those who have lost loved ones will find comfort and peace to go on with life. Pray that those who are wounded will receive treatment. Pray that those who have lost their livelihood will be able to begin life anew and with enthusiasm. Pray that at this time the government and those in power will not see this as an opportunity to enrich themselves but that they will have compassion on their people and let the help that is pouring,  and will pour in from the rest of the world, get to those who are hurting and need help. Pray for the many volunteers and relief staff from all the agencies that are reaching out to help, that they will be shielded from danger and harm, and that they will do their work with integrity and honesty. Pray for those out of Haiti, that they will be able to connect with family back home. Pray for the nation of Haiti and pray that in the midst of their dark moment they will see the light, the true light that gives life, life that never dies.

Comments

[Va Boy]

Innocent, papa, this article sorely needs some editing.

[Sesseku . Arrey]

It is off-course a sad situation for the people of Haiti, To those that have fallen Prematurely and suddenly,may your souls rest in peace.May God save Mankind.

[ntam charles]

Sounds like we are all victims of an all powerful and merciless God who because of Adam's sin,decides to curse humanity for generations.But then the son of God asked us to forgive those who offend us 70 tmes 70 when his father did not forgive Adam even once.Then the pastor says God's delay in coming is to enable those who have gone astray to find themselves and repent.It shall never of course happen bc never shall every one be spiritually prepared.He should better come now before more and more people go astray in their frustration.By the way should i punish my work man because he disobeys me and go as far as cursing his children?I am not question God but those who wrote and who are interpreting the scriptures.

Ntam

[ntam charles]

And we are made in God's image,to look like him but not to act like him.Punishing those who go against us.

[Sesseku Arrey.]

Ntam
It's off-course true that God himself said.
BUT WHO IS MAN TO TALK BACK TO HIM;
HE HAS MERCIES ON WHO WANTS TO HAVE MERCIES AND
COMPASSION ON WHO HE WANTS TO HAVE COMPASSION:
Let us all just pray for his Grace and Mercies.
It's not all that can interprets the scriptures correctly.

[Beulah]

Please oh!!! There is always a limit to ranting and rambling, be careful that u don't cross the boundaries and do check out Deut 29:29 and learn wisdom, fear GOD.......

[Beulah]

Reflect on this....What happens if a person or a nation continues to turn against or even curse God? Will He withhold justice forever? Will He bring discipline or not? If our nation or any nation continues to do this, there follows a defilement and every evil thing. As a Christian nation, with the hand of God clearly upon us from the beginning, we must be careful never to insult, deny or turn against God. Nations are not forever. Many nations who once existed are no longer. Unless we as individuals and/or as a nation repent, do not be surprised when the boots of our enemies walk proudly and freely in victory over our land while we pursue vain follies and make merry. Watch your mouth.
Matthew 15:10-11 “After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, 'Hear and understand. It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.'" Ras Robinson*

[Sesseku Arrey.]

Thats great Beulah, may be Ntam needs to understand that The Ways of the LORD are not our ways: We Must Fear The Lord And Tremble.
God Loves All his Children.The People of Haiti are not Forgotten.

[Vic Katte]

My word - this is really bad theology or theodicy. Traditional Abrahamic religion hold that their god is omnipotent, omnipresent and omnibenevolent. If this is true, then nothing exists that was not created by their god. If god has the attributes that Abrahamic religions ascribe to him, then nothing but nothing can come into existence besides this god - the potential for sin cannot have existed without god willing it to exist.

If god is omnipotent, then it is conceivable that it is within his powers to create a world without the potential for sin and without evil. If it was logically impossible for god to create such a world, then he cannot be said to be omnipotent, for omnipotence, if it means anything, implies the ability to do whatever one wishes, without limitations.

The fact that the Abrahamic god is said to have created our world with all the natural evils it possesses means that this god cannot both be omnipotent and omnibenevolent. Just think about it this way:

If you are a parent of children, would you deliberately construct a defective and dangerous building into which to house your beloved children?

If your theology is right, could god have known that his creations were going to become corrupted by SIN? If he could have, but took no action to redress his design, he cannot be said to be omnibenevolent. If he could not redress it by lack of the means, then he cannot be said to be omnipotent.

Christians and other Abrahamic religionists have a very defective sense of moral justice, their minds having been addled by their doctrine. This is evidence by the usual shouts of "Thank God - such-and-such person did not die in this disaster". My question to such inane pronoucements is this - "Should we also thank God for those that died?". Why did God not save them? What is special about those that survived? Why would God kill some many of his own beloved children, many thousands on innocent babies included? Is this a blood-thirsty God?

I am reminded by the aphorism by Epicurus.

"Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot; or he can, but does not want to. If he wants to, but cannot, he is impotent. If he can, but does not want to, he is wicked. If God can abolish evil, and God really wants to do it, why is there evil in the world?

[Makia Eseme]

Thank you Mr. Innocent Chia for that vivid account of the travails and tribulations of the Haitians. Let us all remember that tragedies do not select their victims.

Is not long ago we, Cameroonians, wailed when Lake Nyos spewed poisonous gases. The most we can do at this moment is to do a re-examination of our inner selves and help if we can afford it the people of Haiti. Humanity is to help others at their weakest moments in life.

[Marcellus F. Mbah]

What are we doing as Cameroonians to contribute our own quota to the relief effort going on! Other Africa nations are doing their bit - I will be disappointed if the best the Cameroon government can do is to send a condolence message. Wake up Cameroon, don't die at the receiving end, it's time to give!

[Sesseku Arrey.]

Vic Katte,
Don't you believe in the existence and all powerful God. AS i earlier said, The Ways Of The Lord Are Not Our Ways. Lets us not be deceived in our so call Knowledge. God's Foolishness is Man's Wisdom. Your Theology makes you not to Fear God, do you?