Who's to Blame for COVID-19?
Who’s to Blame for COVID-19?
Who’s to blame for the spread of the coronavirus? 5-G? Animals? Tourists? China? How about God?
For centuries, natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and plagues were often understood to be of divine origin. Figuring out reasons why a basically good God would afflict basically good people is called theodicy. Although formally the domain of theologians and clergy, rationalizing inexplicable suffering is also something that people everywhere try to do.
One of the most common rationalizations for suffering which has been put forward over several millennia is that someone (preferably and almost always someone else) was being singled out by God for sins committed, even if we all are punished. In such cases, once the sin has been identified, the guilty party is supposed to acknowledge the transgression, repent, and change their sinful behavior.
Despite the fact that ours is largely a science-based, secular culture, this perspective is still prevalent today, albeit with some modern touches.
For many people, the belief that natural disasters are signs of divine displeasure has been replaced by the idea that they are caused by human behavior. But someone still remains “guilty” and must therefore repent. Most accusations of blame, whether on society’s fringes or in the mainstream, strongly reflect their authors’ socio-political perspectives as they endeavor to link the pandemic to the behavior of their opponents.
The need to find blame is human because, at bottom, what terrifies us as a species is the possibility that the virus is just a random act of nature, devoid of any meaning save what we choose to impose upon it. Do all life’s events have an imposed meaning and direction, or is it all a matter of chance? That is a dangerous and threatening question. For many people it is far better to assert that God remains in control; that God has sent or allowed this plague to enforce repentance by the guilty; and that, for the rest of us, we must remain faithful during this test. For many others, they will aver that God is not responsible and instead will focus culpability on human behavior. Either way, judgment has been passed and the cause clearly established. The world remains a stable place in this sense, or at least so it seems.
But what, I wonder, is so terrible about not knowing why? What if suffering is inexplicable?
Originally published at https://religica.org/whos-to-blame-fo... https://religica.org/whos-to-blame-fo...
Who’s to blame for the spread of the coronavirus? 5-G? Animals? Tourists? China? How about God?
For centuries, natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and plagues were often understood to be of divine origin. Figuring out reasons why a basically good God would afflict basically good people is called theodicy. Although formally the domain of theologians and clergy, rationalizing inexplicable suffering is also something that people everywhere try to do.
One of the most common rationalizations for suffering which has been put forward over several millennia is that someone (preferably and almost always someone else) was being singled out by God for sins committed, even if we all are punished. In such cases, once the sin has been identified, the guilty party is supposed to acknowledge the transgression, repent, and change their sinful behavior.
Despite the fact that ours is largely a science-based, secular culture, this perspective is still prevalent today, albeit with some modern touches.
For many people, the belief that natural disasters are signs of divine displeasure has been replaced by the idea that they are caused by human behavior. But someone still remains “guilty” and must therefore repent. Most accusations of blame, whether on society’s fringes or in the mainstream, strongly reflect their authors’ socio-political perspectives as they endeavor to link the pandemic to the behavior of their opponents.
The need to find blame is human because, at bottom, what terrifies us as a species is the possibility that the virus is just a random act of nature, devoid of any meaning save what we choose to impose upon it. Do all life’s events have an imposed meaning and direction, or is it all a matter of chance? That is a dangerous and threatening question. For many people it is far better to assert that God remains in control; that God has sent or allowed this plague to enforce repentance by the guilty; and that, for the rest of us, we must remain faithful during this test. For many others, they will aver that God is not responsible and instead will focus culpability on human behavior. Either way, judgment has been passed and the cause clearly established. The world remains a stable place in this sense, or at least so it seems.
But what, I wonder, is so terrible about not knowing why? What if suffering is inexplicable?
Originally published at https://religica.org/whos-to-blame-fo... https://religica.org/whos-to-blame-fo...
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