Who do we blame when tragedy strikes?

We often hear of tragedies! They shock us and often produce an impulsive reaction. In 2016 we heard the horrific news that an alligator had dragged a two-year-old boy into a lake at Walt Disney World. Disney closed all the beaches at its resorts. More than fifty law-enforcement personnel searched the lake. They eventually found the boy's body and presume that he drowned.

Some blamed Disney for not posting signs warning about alligators in the water. Others were quick to blame the parents. As with the boy who fell into a gorilla pit in Cincinnati, people on social media lambasted the mother and father who allowed their son to play in the water.

Why do we feel such a need to assign blame when tragedy strikes?

A scientist decides that there really is a God

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

I was looking at the books on the shelves of a shop in Weston-super-Mare when my eyes alighted upon a specific title.  It said in bold red letters, ‘THERE IS NO GOD”.  On closer inspection the word ‘No’ was crossed out and the letter ‘A’ had replaced it  and so it actually read, ‘THERE IS A GOD’. I could not resist purchasing the book especially as the sub-title said, ‘How the world’s most notorious atheist changed his mind’.  The book was written by Professor Antony Flew who had been a writer and defender of the philosophy of atheism for many years.

Shocked & Sad

All photos courtesy of Unsplash 

Some time ago I happened to watch part of the television programme, “Who Do You Think You Are?”.  It is a programme that looks into a person’s family history and often there are surprises concerning an ancestor.  Sometimes there are smiles of delight and at other times tears of sadness of what an ancestor may have experienced.  On this particular programme the actor Ralf Little, who has appeared on television programmes such as ‘Death in Paradise’, was finding out about his forefathers.

He had grown up with a rumour that a part-time footballer on his mother’s side had been an international player.  He was delighted to find out that his mother’s grandfather, Albert Lockley, had played for Wales. It was a match against Ireland in 1898.  Ralf was really pleased to find out that the rumour or family legend was actually true.  He went to the club where his great grandfather had played and sat in the stand as he spoke with a local historian. Then he heard some new information about the footballer that seemed to devastate him.  He made it clear how shocked and sad he was to hear that information. 

The pain of death

 

Over the past few weeks, two of my good friends have died, writes Bert Cargill of St Monans Gospel Hall, men in the same age group as myself, so it was sad to see them go. I’m sure that you will have had this experience too at some point. Many years of friendship and common interests had given us great opportunities to share and care in church-based events and everyday ones. That is finished now, but we have the great prospect of a reunion in heaven one day, a place where there is no death, no sorrow, no pain, no loss. As it says in Revelation 21:4, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”