Most plane crashes render no survivors, however, in the more recent crash of an Atlanta bound plane from Lexington, Kentucky, the sole survivor regained his speech and asked, "Why did God do this to me?" I found this interesting because most critics of the Christian faith wonder the same when calamity strikes. Even Christians wonder "why God....?" when bad things happen to good people. What people fail to realize is that individuals have free-will. A choice to conduct themselves however they please. In this crash situation, there was only one aircraft controller working that day which was against FAA policy. When the plane hit the wrong runway...his head was turned. He couldn't correct an error he hadn't noticed. Things happen that are the direct result of human error. More than that, why didn't the sole survivor view it as God sparing his life. What are the odds? 1 out of 50 survived. Which the exception of a few weeks in the hospital, shock, and some broken bones...you're still alive. Thank God.
With Hurricane Katrina, it was a natural disaster. However, human bureaucracy kept city levees from being top priority. Why weren't they a priority? Because the people were not a priority. People control and create government systems. It does stand true that families were separated and the death toll was enormous, but should God be the blame? What about those who chose to stay despite warning? What about those who weren't able to leave (financially and physically)? Shouldn't the people's government be to blame for not having a plan for when disaster strikes? Is there a different quality of life for N.O. residents? yes. Are people still in need? yes. Do we all have a responsibility to help? yes. Should God be blamed? I don't think so.
Recently, I was on a flight to LA from Atlanta. After we boarded and got to the runway, our pilot said he was going back to the gate because one of three indicators did not light correctly. He chose to have mechanics check it out. Luckily, his caution helped because the broken indicator signaled an error with one of the wings and could have been tragic. We switched planes and went about our way. I could've died. It would've just been an oversight. Nonetheless...I'm grateful.
Maybe, if people physically saw God's hands casting the storm into the pit of the Gulf of Mexico we would think differently. Perhaps, if people saw God lift the plane up and place it safely on the grassy knoll near the runway more people would believe in Him.
