Have you noticed it’s difficult to find perspective when you face an armed robber, earthquake, or deadly virus? Trying to be philosophical in a hurricane reveals insanity.
But after disaster strikes, we should return as quickly as possible to the equilibrium of truth and wisdom. We’ve now met coronavirus, taken protective measures, and settled into new social patterns. So, where are we now? Who are we now? What do we see? Will we move on?
This new virus takes me back to the tsunami that slammed into the coast of Sumatra on December 26, 2004, killing a quarter million people and leaving a half million homeless. That quick sweep of death and destruction brought human anguish into clear and global focus. Convulsive grief became the only proper way of the soul.
Then, just days later, New York Times science writer William Broad delivered a magnificent perspective to his readers, “Powerful jolts like the one that sent killer waves racing across the Indian Ocean on Dec. 26 are inevitable side effects of the constant recycling of planetary crust, which produces a lush, habitable planet.”
He also quoted University of California geochemist Dr. Donald DePaolo: “…the type of geological process that caused the earthquake and the tsunami is an essential characteristic of the earth. As far as we know, it doesn’t occur on any other planetary body and has something very directly to do with the fact that the earth is a habitable planet.”[1]
Incredible; “essential characteristics” of the “lush, habitable planet” kill many who live on it. Think of it, we live across a vast and variegated terrain, comprising geological, spatial, chronological, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. Like a murmuration of sparrows, life rolls, billows, shrinks, and swirls across mysterious undulations of our Creator’s design.
Is the Coronavirus Evil?
In August 2018, Christianity Today carried an interview with a molecular biologist. Dr. Anjanette Roberts, who had worked on the SARS virus at the National Institutes of Health, brought the same kind of stunning perspective to viruses.
As a Christian believer, she knows viruses are not the result of Adam’s fall into sin. She explained, “Bacteria are absolutely essential to the life of everything on planet Earth. Bacteria are primary producers.” But right there lies a problem; bacteria can reproduce so rapidly they can double their population in 20 minutes. In the ecological balance, viruses keep that explosive growth in check. According to Dr. Roberts, if viruses did not control bacteria populations, “…there would be no environmental resources and no ecological space for other types of organisms to life on Earth.” [2]
In March 2020, the same magazine returned to the same theme with Editor-in-chief Daniel Harrell’s article, “Is the Coronavirus Evil?”
Harrell wrote,“…unless God’s creation defies every characteristic of biological reality, bacteria and viruses are not bitter fruits of the fall, but among the first fruits of good creation itself. If the science is right, there would be no life as we know it without them…Death itself is required for organic life to exist.”[3]
So, the beautiful perfection of our ecosystem means we live with killers. Our planet is wild and dangerous. But that danger is precisely what makes earth a “habitable planet.” Water—which we cannot live without—brings death as quickly as life. The same is true of wind, shifting plates, and viruses.
Perhaps we find a clue about our home planet in what the Psalmist David wrote about the planet’s Creator, “darkness and the light are both alike to thee.”
What Matters Most
The awesome forces of fire, water, wind, disease, or migrating tectonic plates will always shake the order of built things. Societies take decades, sometimes centuries, to build great and essential places. And wild natural forces can knock them down in a few minutes.
So we live with killers. OK; we need to deal with it, then get back to what matters! We’re all batters in the box; it’s no time to consider earaches, getting new tires, checking Netflix, or cleaning the gutters. Keep your eye on the ball.
And hold to what matters most—family, faith, friendship, love, joy, humility, peace, generosity, and gratitude.
This killer will pass. Others will take its place. But we will go on.
[1] William J. Broad, “Deadly and Yet Necessary, Quakes Renew the Planet.” New York Times, January 11, 2005. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/11/science/deadly-and-yet-necessary-quakes-renew-the-planet.html?_r=0
[2] Rebecca Randall, “Why Zika, and Other Viruses, Don’t Disprove God’s Goodness.” Christianity Today, August 14, 2028. https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/august-web-only/why-zika-and-other-viruses-dont-disprove-gods-goodness.html
[3] Daniel Harrell, “Is the Coronavirus Evil?” Christianity Today, March 17, 2020. https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/march-web-only/coronavirus-evil-covid-19-disease-theology.html
Few know what a murmaration is and fewer know where Terra del Fuego is. The head bobbers are vast among us. Like “I never knew they were killing jews “ but they bought 200 loaves a day of my bread for the camp. My people die for lack of knowledge of me. For us to think America will be bypassed by the ills that have befallen our ancesters is naive miopic thinking and can lead to destruction. Thank you Ed.
Thanks, David. I appreciate you taking the time to read and reply. I don’t get the “Terra del Fuego” reference.
Well said…and wise!
Thanks, Brian. I’ve enjoyed our common journey toward wisdom.
Awesome Ed. Thank you for this reminder that this too shall pass, and when it is over God will be God then just like He is God now!
Thanks, Michael. Yes, yes.
“Incredible; “essential characteristics” of the “lush, habitable planet” kill many who live on it. Think of it, we live across a vast and variegated terrain, comprising geological, spatial, chronological, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. Like a murmuration of sparrows, life rolls, billows, shrinks, and swirls across mysterious undulations of our Creator’s design.”
Your use of these words along with your others are poetic, like parables, encouraging us to plant our feet firmly in current realities yet to see the wider expanses of a vast horizon beyond simply the moment we live in.
They also remind me of these words you and I have shared from the Jewish theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel:
“The meaning of awe is to realize that life takes place under wide horizons, horizons that range beyond the span of an individual life or even the life of a nation, a generation, or an era.”
Thank you for sharing this message.
Thanks, Chris. I had forgotten the Heschel line. So good.
In Texas we’ve learned a lot about social distancing. We avoid copperheads, water moccasins, scorpions, black widow and brown recluse spiders, fire ants, feral hogs, poison ivy, other vines and plants that cause much distress. And, that doesn’t take into account all the dangers in the ocean. We keep telling ourselves that they must serve some purpose to keep nature in balance. We tell ourselves that in faith that it’s true.
Having said all that, I realize that the Garden of Eden is the perfect world we sometimes equate with the wonderful family life of the 1950’s. We must learn to live where we are and solve the problems presented today by seeking God, His solutions, His grace and His presence. I realize this isn’t a lofty assessment – just experience. By the way, I do know where Tierra del Fuego is, but I didn’t remember what a murmuration is and we have plenty of those in Texas. Blessings!
I love the line about Texans knowing social distancing. Yes, every generation faces it’s own problems. The answers always come from the same place. Thanks, Sue.