I'm sorry, however you were intending on using your god to justify, explain, comfort or heal what has happened in Haiti is irrelevant. You don't get to do it, not in this instance. Not when 100,000 people have been crushed to death and more are starving, fighting and sifting through the wreckage. God has no place in any argument or salvation. Let's start with the basics. How on Earth do you think god can help the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere that has just been gutted by a massive earthquake? There is no room for god here, only the goodwill of Man. There are so many contradictions that refute the existence of god within 100 miles of Port-au-Prince right now that to claim he is anywhere near is to laugh in the face of your own faith.
Was god present when the earthquake hit and destroyed so many lives? Was he present only in the lives of those who were spared? They are suffering through the hardships of their loss and the threat of slow starvation. They are fighting in the street over looted goods. The local Bishop died, does that mean he didn't pray hard enough? Were they without god to begin with, thus deserved the disaster? How will bringing god to them help when they're already a dominantly religious society? These people believed and now half of them are praying harder while the other half are burning their bibles out of disgust. This god of yours is a sick joke that only salts the wounds of a downtrodden Haiti.
The Salvation Army claims that they will fight the disaster with god. Which god exactly? The same one that told this charity to pull all of their support from New York City homeless shelters if gay marriage legalization was even considered? Was it the god that let the earthquake happen in the first place, providing a platform for fine organizations like the Salvation Army and World Vision to swoop in and proselytize to a reeling and depressed population? The opportunistic bastards. When something this terrible happens to the world, any invocation of god is a losing proposition. Here are your choices:
1) Did it to punish everyone. So, what about all the good people who died? What about that 11 year old girl who died after being rescued? "Please don't let me die," were her last words.
2) Could not stop it from happening. However, he didn't bother to warn anyone. He just stood by and watched. Why is he worth worshiping again?
3) Caused it as a beacon to missionaries. Well, that certainly worked. Now you get to inherit a wretched and broken populace. They'll give more to your church and pray for salvation from the god that has just forsaken them.
4) Saved those he favored. Like all the prisoners who escaped and the gangs who have been looting?
5) Issued a test of faith. Yes, a huge earthquake that affected millions is a test of your personal faith.
6) Worked in one of his mysterious ways again. Anyone seeking meaning from such a tragedy is squeezing every last ounce of juice from the confirmation bias.
I understand that to many, faith is a very personal proposition, but no matter what you may think, the conclusion that god exists is by some extension an evil one. There is no right side of this tragedy. When something of this magnitude happens naturally, there is no justifying the existence of a vengeful or loving god because neither exists. At this point, you're either fooling yourself, worshiping out of fear or spiritually implicit in the deaths of thousands of innocent people. There is no way to win.
Let's recap: An earthquake struck the poorest and most vulnerable country (its capitol and largest city no less) on this side of the Earth and killed thousands of people (possibly 100,000 - possibly more). In addition to the loss of life, people have lost nearly every possession they once owned and the government has been rendered impotent. The resulting inhumanity consists of thousands of bodies piled in the road, mass graves filled with unclaimed bodies, looters ransacking stores and clashing with each other over the ownership of stolen goods, thousands struggling for survival and dignity, men removing bodies from coffins so their own relatives can be laid to rest, and doctors performing "Gettysburg" surgery on patients with hacksaws. God has no place here.
The only thing that will save Haiti is human compassion. Money donated to reputable secular charities will do the most good. Fund the work of a doctor or a rescue crew, not the motive of some flawed, useless deity.
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If you're looking for a charity, I suggest Direct Relief International. They have a 99% efficiency rating, which means 99 cents out of every dollar will go towards the effort. They are one of only two charities given a 5-star rating by Forbes for the last 5 years straight. Also, do not donate items; money will be far more efficient. We saw with the tsunami relief that item donations actually prevented a lot of the most useful items from being used because they were piled under mountains of useless items. If you're wondering, my heathen ass donated $50.
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Do you realize what it means when I say there is no god? I am also saying that there is no supernatural, no design, no purpose and no path. It means that every time someone has screamed into the sky, "Why?" There has never been an answer. The thousands of dead Haitians are not victims but consequential results of a billion factors, none of which include a motive or moral justification. They deserve every ounce of our sympathy. Does it help or hurt to know this? It doesn't matter.
I'm pretty sure what you're thinking. If it has happened to me, I would be looking for answers. Well, as it so happens, I have been in a fairly devastating earthquake. January 19th, 1994, 4:19am. Los Angeles woke up to the earth shaking beneath it. Four hours before, my friend Alex and I had fallen asleep beneath the television after playing games on my Sega Genesis. At some point, I woke up and dragged Alex to the couch bed to sleep because he didn't look comfortable sprawled out on the carpet. I went back to sleep myself, but my eyes opened in the silent darkness. I had just a moment of blank existence to ponder before the house started rocking around me. When it stopped, I took Alex outside to the cul-de-sac where my family and the neighbors had collected. We lost a lot of things in that quake. The TV that Alex and I had earlier been sleeping under had fallen right on its face. The tower dressers that flanked my parents' bed had crashed to the floor after my dad fell out of bed and scrambled back in. There was a lot to be thankful for, but who should I be thanking?
There was no divine influence that I could feel, only drowsiness and a sense of responsibility for my younger friend. I did not feel blessed to have my house torn apart, my soccer trophies smashed and my family's heirlooms in the china cabinet shattered. If you're looking for the guiding hand of god, you're not appreciating what it means to be alive.
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