Thoughts by Dr. Kerry Anderson

The Summer of 2023

The summer of 2023 has seen a series of one catastrophe after another.  Recent fire activity in BC has led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents and the destruction of over a hundred homes.  The smoke from these fires hung over us for weeks.  It has now been cleared by rain from tropical storm Hillary, which itself has caused severe flooding and extensive damage in California.

At the same time as Kelowna’s McDougal Creek fire, there is the Crater Lake fire near Keremeos and the Adams Lake fire near Salmon Arm.  Prior to that was the Eagle Bluff fire near Osoyoos and a large number up in the Peace country.

Beyond BC, there are the fires in NWT that led to the evacuation of 22,000 people Yellowknife.  And earlier this spring, there was a fire that threatened Halifax, and then the fires in Quebec and Ontario that for a few days blanketed the eastern seaboard of the US with the worst air quality in the world.

Then there was the fire in Maui, which based on the current count has killed at least 115 people, leaving hundred others still missing from the town of Lāhainā. 

This brings up the question: amidst all this chaos, where is God?

The increase in fire activity likely can be attributed to the super El Nino event currently happening.  Warm waters off the coast of Peru have affected global wind flow patterns and increased temperatures in western Canada.  Along side this are the record temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico likely to lead to more hurricanes along the Gulf Coast.

Behind all of this is global warming.  Then there is the political turmoil in the US with its threats to democracy.  And to top it off, we are now faced with the unknown ramifications of artificial intelligence.

Where is God’s hand in all of this?

I bumped into a friend earlier this week.  We talked of the fires and smoke and I shared my understanding of the current situation.  My friend, having a Baptist background, asked me if I thought this was a sign of the End Times.  Wow!  How does one respond to that?

Now I’m not turning this into a sermon on dispensationalism or resort to scripture readings from Daniel, Ezekiel, or Revelation.  While we in the Anglican Church of Canada acknowledge in our creed that “he will come again to judge the living and the dead, and his Kingdom will have no end,” it is not a topic we focus much attention on.  In my own opinion, I tend to put it in the category of the mystery of faith.

Still, we have the unresolved question: where is God?

I don’t have a clear answer to this.  Perhaps Ken and Roger will pull me aside and explain it to me more clearly.  But as I wrestle with this, I am reminded of the 1981 book When Bad Things Happen To Good People.  Written by a conservative Rabbi, Harold S. Kushner presents a summary of a topic that has challenged philosophers for centuries.  If God is so omnipotent and good, how can He allow this to happen.

Kushner addresses topics as why people often don’t get what they deserve (good or bad); he also advises us not to listen to people who try to explain misfortunes; and finally, he describes how the meaning of pain comes from what you do with it.  In simpler words, God doesn’t cause you to fall off a ladder but he does help you to get up.

Kushner aside, another way to look at this is a matter of free choice.  God created us in His image but also provided us with free choice.  We essentially chose and created the world we live in.  I’ve heard it described as though we are living in a battlefield of good versus evil and as a result, where there are civilian casualties.

In closing, I am reminded of the words of Bruce Cockburn.  In his song Dweller by a Dark Stream, he starts by saying It could have been me who put the thorns in your crown — indicative of his (and our) selfish, self-centredness.  Later he describes himself as walking this prison camp world.  Let us not dwell in the darkness but look forward to a brighter future.