Triumph and Disaster

Some of the papers are calling the dastardly attack on London, so soon after the Olympic jubilation, "the day of triumph and the day of disaster", and announcing, "terror comes to London", and yet, we British are "Bloody but unbowed". I emailed back and forth with a friend yesterday who missed the Kings Cross bombing by minutes. He eventually got to work on a river taxi. Others were not so lucky, I'm sad to say.

It reminds me that the devil, who is the real author of evil, does not have a forked tail, a red jump-suit and little horns; he wears a nice suit and carries a briefcase, filled with semtex. These are fingerprints that will not be picked up by forensics, but which show all of the hallmarks of the enemy of souls. We also need to remember that things that happen in the natural world can indicate what is going on in the unseen one.

Some people are saying they cannot understand why people could do such a thing. I also struggle to understand on an emotional level how murder can be justified in such a case (or any), but from a theological point of view, the matter is much clearer. We do live in a fallen world; a world that the West has forgotten is in the grip of evil powers behind the scenes. This is not some medieval vision, but a true picture of the world that has a powerful, but not omnipotent enemy. Christians call this a spiritual war, but not against people as some crusaders terribly misjudged. It is a fight for good and right, and truth, in the pure light of God.

I am banking on the fact that God will turn this around. The enemy always seems to overplay his hand, and we shall see great victory come out of this monstrous act. My thoughts and prayers, and those of millions of other Christians are with the victims and their families. This little discussion will not assuage their pain in the least. Though I am sure that we all need to be reminded of how to frame such dreadful things.

The same Gospel that people deny is true, often rationalize their position with the old argument of disbelief; how could God allow such terrible things as the London bombing yesterday. It's the issue of theodicy and the problem of evil again. (The word, which supposedly was coined by the German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716), is derived from two Greek words (theos, God, and dike, justice), and has to do with the justification of the goodness and righteousness of God in the face of the evil in the world. http://www.leaderu.com/theology/theodicy.html)

I don't know why God let is happen, but I do know that this, under-estimated Gospel, tells us that there is genuine evil, and that God comes into the darkness and is able to bring light and hope. Some people even try to deny that evil exists, but this is no defense against the enemies of the good. They are laughing all the way down below, to a very dark place and well-deserved punishment, filled with delusions of frightful things that will not do anyone any good, especially they themselves.

Paul writes to the Romans that we should "expect the God of peace to soon crush satan under our feet." Rom 16:20; May it be so in this case in a big way. I would not want to be in the shoes of OBL and his cronies.