by the Rev Dr Thorwald Lorenzen
Dear friends
In light of some statements by thoughtless church leaders and religious fanatics I want to suggest to you quite clearly and firmly that the tsunami 2004 is not an act of God punishing the world for its materialism, violence and selfishness. It is not an act of God, sparing many Christians, but judging the Moslem and Hindu and Buddhist world. It is not an act of God issuing judgment on the sex trade in Thailand or the social strife in Sri Lanka or the military regime in Myanmar.
God’s power is not like our desire to move and shake the world. For Christians, God’s almighty power is the power of love. In each situation it seeks to save what is lost, liberate what is in chains, heal what is broken and lift up those who have become tired. God is a burden carrier. And it belongs to the miracles of grace that God gives us the opportunity and privilege to help in the work of solidarity, compassion and restoration.
The tsunami is not an act of God. It is a natural disaster. With all its terrible and catastrophic consequences, it was predictable and it is explainable. It has to do with plate tectonics. Continental plates grinding against each other, producing earthquakes and sometimes tidal waves. It is a disaster that has a history and such disasters will happen again.
The great earthquake of Lisbon on November 1, 1755 has lived on in the minds of Europeans ever since. 30.000 people and a third of the city were destroyed. Some thought that it was the judgment of God upon Roman Catholics. Others proclaimed that it was the judgment of God upon Portugal for being too tolerant to Protestants. “God” should not be used to fulfil human desires.
The country that gave us the name, “tsunami”, experienced one in 1703 that killed 100,000 people around the port of Awa in Japan. The history of humanity is replete with natural catastrophes and such catastrophes have served biblical authors to describe dimensions of divine judgment. But there is absolutely no reason for anyone, least of all Christian leaders, to identify this particular tragedy with an act of God.
Like everything in life, so also the tsunami 2004, calls for our response and interpretation. Here are a few points that from the perspective of Christian faith may be made:
· The tsunami has revealed the naivet © and frailty of human nature. In rebuilding the devastated sites all human technology should be taken into consideration as to where to rebuild and settle. It would, to give an example, be stupid and irresponsible to build nuclear power stations on, or near, continental shelves.
· The tsunami can serve as a warning to listen to nature and respect nature. Nature is not merely our environment, but we, as human beings, are with our being woven into nature. Ecocide is homicide. Not to ratify and implement the Kyoto protocol is the refusal to listen to nature on a political level.
· The immense aid effort and generosity on all levels from all over the world has revealed the best of the human spirit. We can be proud of the government and of the aid agencies in Australia for responding quickly and generously. May that spirit of generosity be sustained as we face the global struggle against poverty, oppression and injustice.
· The tsunami response can remind us that human solidarity and compassion for all people is of the essence of human life and of human survival.
And yet my friends, let us not forget, that another kind of “tsunami” happens and will continue to happen every day. Every day! 29,000 children die every day due to malnutrition and avoidable diseases. Our compassion, both on the personal and on the political level needs to be patient and enduring.
As Christians we enter the passion of God for God’s world by showing practical compassion for the victims of this and for other disasters. On that journey of solidarity and compassion we may discover that God is already there welcoming our help.
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Dear tsunami article author,
I am writing to let you know of an error in your helpful and very informative online article on tsunamis http://jmm.org.au/articles/14194.htm.
Your article refers to a tsunami in Awa, Japan in 1703 that is listed as having killed 100,000 people. A tsunami did occur in Japan in 1703, but its death toll was an order of magnitude smaller. I have checked with my colleagues in the tsunami community and the consensus is that the event cited is a tsunami that occurred as a result of the 1703 Genroku (Kanto) earthquake. Watanabe (1) lists the fatalities at 10,000. Other sources such as the U. S. National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) (2) list 5233 deaths. As is usual with historical data, the numbers differ depending on the source, but all these numbers are all well below the 100,000 mark. It is possible that the 100,000 number resulted from a misprint of the Watanabe statistic of 10,000 deaths. The fictitious Awa event was cited both in Britannica Online and the 2004 Britannica Reference Suite DVD, but after we contacted them, they have since corrected their article on tsunamis (3) and list Krakatoa as the tsunami with the second most fatalities. The article in Wikipedia’s online website has also been corrected.
Other more disastrous tsunamis include South China Sea 1782 (40,000 dead) 2, Krakatau 1883 (36,500 dead) 2 and Nankaido 1498 (31,201 dead) 2. Even higher death tolls are associated with other events such as the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and the ca 1400 B.C. eruption of Santorini, but in these cases it is difficult to find accurate numbers for strictly tsunami related fatalities.
At the University of Washington, we have been researching tsunamis since the 1980s. As editor and contributing author to the website “Tsunami!” at the University of Washington, http://www.ess.washington.edu/tsunami/index.html , I receive many requests for information about tsunamis, particularly tsunamis with high death tolls. Many elementary and secondary students as well as the general public rely on accurate information being available on-line to help them with their projects. After the 2004 Sumatra tsunami, much interest was generated in “what was the second most disastrous tsunami in history?” I have seen a proliferation on the web of erroneous references to the “Awa tsunami” and am making an effort to set the record straight.
It would be very helpful to me if you could let me know the source of the information in your article. For my part, I would be happy to assist you with any questions that you may have in this matter via e-mail at cpetroff(at)washington.edu .
Respectfully yours,
Dr. Catherine M. Petroff
Research Scientist and Affiliate Assistant Professor
Environmental Fluid Mechanics
University of Washington
References:
1. Watanabe, H., 1998, “Nihon higai tsunami so_ran, dai ni-han ” (Comprehensive list of destructive tsunamis to hit the Japanese islands, 2ndedition): Tokyo, University of Tokyo Press, 238 p. [in Japanese].
2. U. S. National Geophysical Data Center tsunami database
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/hazard/tsevsrch_idb.shtml
3. “tsunami.” Encyclop ¦dia Britannica. 2005. Encyclop ¦dia Britannica Premium Service. 2 Aug. 2005
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9073633.
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