Offers

Published by The National Herald, January 21, 2005

Metropolitan Maximos Offers Theological Perspective on Tsunami Disaster

BOSTON – The tsunami disaster in South East Asia an East Africa has incited various theological discussions in recent weeks. Metropolitan Maximos of Pittsburgh, a former professor of Systematic Theology and Eschatology, told the National Herald about his perspectives on such catastrophic phenomena.

Asked about how a disaster of such magnitude could be explained, and if God could be responsible for it, the Metropolitan avoided what he called "moralist" and "atheist" positions.

"There are the moralists who say that some of those tourist resorts (in South East Asia) had become Sodom and Gomorra, and that what happened was punishment from God. Others say that the tidal waves were a natural phenomenon, caused when two tectonic plates in the Indian Ocean collided, releasing a force that resulted in the tsunami," Maximos said.

But the proper theological explanation rests on the faith that God’s Creation is still in the midst of an ever-evolving and dynamic process, he stressed, citing that it would be against God’s very nature to destroy the world.

"Our world has not yet been perfected, and Creation has not been completed. There is no doubt that God’s Creation is an ongoing process that continues today," he explained.

"This was no punishment from God. God can not turn against His Own nature and destroy the world. On the other hand, based on what happened, we can get a variety of messages. First of all, we have not expanded our minds to the degree that we can predict and prevent such phenomena. Some press reports have suggested that the tsunami victims paid for the scientists’ failure to warn the world what they knew would happen. If that is true, it is tragic," the Metropolitan said.

"But God is not a punisher. He is a lover of humanity and Giver of Love. He gave us minds to use. When He said: ‘Be fruitful and multiply and populate the Earth,’ He made it very clear that we are free to not only populate the world physically, but to enrich it with our mind and, of course, through our means to understand various physical phenomena. I remember the words of the Greek philosophers – who said something very correct and beautiful – that ‘a stone can kill me without knowing it can, but I am superior to the stone because I know it can killed me.’ " he added.

Asked about why God – Who the Christian, Judaic and Islamic faiths maintain is omnipotent – did not intervene to protect and save the people from the tsunami disaster, Maximos pointed out that there were many miracles in the aftermath of the catastrophe, and that miracles proof of God’s intervention.

"No one is responsible. This is the natural progression of things. God gave us a mind, so we know what is happening. We could have predicted this phenomenon better. God does not intervene so that he does not take away our freedom. He intervenes for miracles. There were many miracles in the stricken region, and many more we may never know about. So many people said they couldn’t explain how they were able to survive the disaster," he said.

The Metropolitan was also reserved about efforts to find passages in the Apocalypse and other prophetic and eschatological books predicting the tsunami.

"People tend to exaggerate. These revelations and the so-called revelatory books make sense within the historical context of the times they were written. They did not predict what will happen at the end of time," he said.

Asked about the passage in the Gospel of Saint Mathew referring to plagues and earthquakes which would afflict humanity (Matthew 24.7-8), Metropolitan Maximos said the passage should not be taken literally: "Unfortunately, these types of events take place in the course of human history. It is moralistic."

Asked whether the Greek Orthodox Church has a moralistic interpretation of, or approach to, the recent disaster and other related events, Maximos said.

"All these phenomena make total sense to us and are completely related to human responsibility. The French say ‘one is paid from wherever he has sinned.’ All this is not completely unrelated, but what can one say to atheists who think that it’s all a matter of physical phenomena? The question is, who is behind all these phenomena, and I would like to again emphasize that the Creation has not yet been completed," he said.

The Metropolitan also addressed the issue of why humanity experiences so much pain and misery.

"Pain and suffering have special meaning, and a special place, because they are a means of catharsis," he said. "What really matters is Eternal Life and the Kingdom of Heaven," citing the recent passing of Metropolitan Anthony of San Francisco to further illustrate his point.

"As your newspaper wrote, he was expected to pass away at any moment. That is the Christian way to look at it. We don’t know the date and time of our own passing, nor the date and time of the Second Coming. But we ought to be cognizant of our own demise, which can happen at any given moment. (After he was diagnosed with cancer), Anthony left in 45 short days. He had made plans; he had invited us to be our host during our Synod. Now that’s all in the past," Maximos concluded. "No one knows the hour or day when his or her time is at hand, or the means by which it will come."



Volume 7 Number 4 - Tuesday, January 25th, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY