The I-35W bridge across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed during the evening rush hour on August 1, 2007, falling into the river and onto its banks, killing 13 people and injuring about 100 more. No smoking gun has ever found that identifies the precise cause of the collapse, though a design flaw was uncovered that may have contributed to it.Yesterday, Mike Cope gave links on his blog to two articles that were written shortly after the tragedy by well-known Minneapolis preachers. One of them (John Piper) is writing from a Calvinistic perspective; the other (Greg Boyd) writes from a non-Calvinist position (and directly addresses Piper's position).
The two articles are helpful in struggling with tragedy and our broken world. Like Cope, I "continue to be puzzled with how one squares Calvinism with the apparent open-endedness of the world." I like the way that Boyd ends his article--
I suggest it’s far more biblical, and far more rational, to simply say that in a fallen, oppressed world, bridges sometimes collapse — and leave it at that. Rather than trying to see the vindictive hand of God behind catastrophes, it’s wiser to simply acknowledge that the world is an oppressed place where things sometimes go tragically wrong and focus all of our mental and physical energy turning from our self-centered ways to carry out God’s will “on earth as it is in heaven.”
1 comment:
The design flaw or flaws that contributed to the bridges failure or the heavy load placed upon it that pushed it past it’s limits or the lack of proper inspection and maintenance over time caused the bridge to collapse? No sir it was all of those things and “apathy” that killed those people! If we can not bridge a river correctly and maintain the bridge and keep it safe over the lifetime of that bridge we should not build it until we can. The safety of those who will travel over it are the responsibility of all involved. There will be earthquakes, floods, Lightning storms and such; so lets be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.
I believe it was a Calvinistic view (perhaps before it had such a label as ‘Calvinism’) that discouraged the use of the lightning rod. There were many who saw a damaged lightning stricken house and said, it is God’s way of punishing the wicked in that house, yet I imagine most of them would seek shelter when the thunder was heard. Benjamin Franklin invented or at least helped perfect and document improvements in lightning rod installation and thus he assisted and served his fellow man saving many homes and many lives from it’s destructive and random force. Many died in fires or were killed or crippled instantly because houses were not equipt with lightning rods. Mr. Franklin showed that the force could be rerouted around the outside of a structure and leave the interior untouched and undamaged. He gave his knowledge away when it could help his fellow man, he was mocked, ridiculed, chastised and spat upon (figuratively) by both sides yet he was loved by the common man and died without a penny. Many have warmed themselves on a cold winter night by the warm glow of a Franklin stove. He gave many such designs away.
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