In Theory:

Q. A nation of desperate and grieving people showed the fervency of their faith this past weekend. Haitians mourned an archbishop, prayed in an open-air revival and, later in the day witnessed a miracle. But some have said that the fate that has befallen Haiti is the ire of God. Others, like Archbishop of Santo Domingo, Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, “has firmly rejected the idea that the tragedy in Haiti was a punishment from God,” according to an article in Catholic News Agency. What is your opinion? Was the earthquake in Haiti a punishment from God to the Haitian people? What does your religion teach about “punishments from God?” And is there a such thing as being “punished” by God?

The Rev. Clifford L. "Skip" Lindeman: Of course not! The Haitian earthquake tragedy is “just one of those things.”

Or, as a bumper sticker has it, “Stuff Happens.”

(I’m a minister, so I couldn’t say “S*** Happens!”)

Seriously, there is a deep-seated belief (certainly not a Christian one) that good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people. I reject such nonsense outright. During the time of Jesus, that belief was widespread; once when a tower or some other construction collapsed and killed some people, Jesus’ disciples asked whose “fault” it was and if they, the victims, sinned or did their parents do something wrong. Jesus said that his Father sends the sun and the rain on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45), so sometimes bad things are going to happen to good people (Rabbi Harold Kushner’s book), and vice-versa.

Belief in God is not going to make anyone bullet-proof, nor is a refusal to believe a guarantee that the sky will fall on you. Before the earthquake ever happened, conditions for most of the population were deplorable. The earthquake simply made an intolerable situation even worse.

Here’s an idea: instead of trying to find out why such a thing could happen, why don’t we all try to relieve the suffering there in any way we can? Many have helped already— believers and non-believers alike, Americans and non-Americans, too. For me it is gratifying that so many countries from around the world have sent help and continue to have a presence there.--The REV. CLIFFORD L. “SKIP” LINDEMAN is pastor of La Cañada Congregational Church. Reach him at (818) 790-1185.