mangoe@umcp-cs.UUCP (07/11/84)
Does God get revenge? The ancient Hebrews thought so. Many still do.
From the _Washington Times_, July 10, 1984:
York Minster ... was gutted by fire yesterday....
Lightning was believed to have caused the fire....
But given the charges of blasphemy that had echoed off the
cathedral's ancient walls during Friday's consecration of the
Rev. David Jenkins as bishop of Durham, some insisted that the
fire was divine retribution for the appointment of a man who
stands accused by fundamentalists of doubting basic Christian
doctrines.
"The scripture say God is not to be mocked," said Pentacostalist
Michael Stuart, who had travelled with other religious protesters
form Liverpool yesterday to stand outside the minster with a sign
saying "Prepare To Meet Thy God."
That Bishop Jenkins stands as a mockery to Christian faith I do not
doubt. I agree with those who wanted the matter brought before the
General Synod of the church. The Right Rev. Roubert Runcie (how's that
for a tongue twister!), Archbishop of Canterbury, was right to denounce
those who wanted to "water down" the faith.
But divine justice? I don't believe it. Who are we to judge? Besides,
if he's so interested in making the church toe the line, why hasn't he
acted in the many times he could have done so in the past? (Maybe the
English are the Chosen People. :-)) No, as I read my Bible, YHWH gave up
tit-for-tat because it certainly didn't work on the Jews. They rebelled
against him and followed him without any regard for what he did for them.
To close I will quote from the _Times_ article (brackets are theirs):
But as shocked tourists and York's proud citizens, some of them in
tears, surveyed the wreckage of their cathedral, questions about
"God's will" failed to be dispelled.
"Yes, I did think about it just before dawn," said an exhausted
Canon Michael Bowering, 12 hours after he first started hauling
priceless crucifixes and carpets out of the blazing building. "But
if he did this [for consecrating the Bishop of Durham] then I don't
believe in him.
"I don't believe that the Christian faith involves that kind of
powerful, jealous God. God doesn't work tit for tat. But yes, it
does make you think."
Yes, it certainly does.
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Charley Wingate umcp-cs!mangoe