Natural Disasters and God's Judgment: A Response to John Piper

Are natural disasters such as tornadoes an act of God’s judgment?

Yes and No.

Yesterday John Piper wrote a blog post in response to recent tornadoes in rural America. You can find the post here (http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/fierce-tornadoes-and-the-fingers-of-god). In this post he asked why God sent His judgment to rural America instead of one of the country’s major cities. He does not really make an argument for why he believes the tornadoes were an act of God’s judgment. He simply appeals to God’s sovereignty and assumes that they were an act of God’s judgment.

He then goes on to try and answer the question, “Why there and not here?”

Many of you know that I am not quick to criticize John Piper. In fact, I am quicker to come to his defense. I have profited greatly from his preaching and writing ministry. Many of my theological positions have been formed in light of things John Piper has taught me from God’s Word. There is enough truth in his blog post to cause hesitation on my part in writing a response. However, I have tried to articulate below what I believe to be a more accurate view, based on Scripture, of the recent tornadoes and other natural disasters. I have also given a brief critique of a couple of the articles I have read that were written in response to Piper’s article.

Scripture clearly teaches that prior to the Fall there was no pain and death (Genesis 1:31, 3:19). After the Fall, as a punishment for sin, both pain and death entered the world (Genesis 3:16-19). Therefore, we can conclude that all pain and suffering is a result of original sin. This includes tooth aches, pain in child bearing, cancer, war, and devastation caused by natural disasters. The glorious truth in all of it is that Jesus came and conquered death on our behalf and that one day He will return to make all things new (John 16:33; Revelation 21:5).

Scripture also teaches that in His sovereignty, God does control nature (Luke 8:24). It also teaches us that God sometimes uses natural phenomenon in judgment. The flood, as recorded in Genesis 6-8, is the primary example of this. We also see in Genesis 19 God sending fire from heaven to destroy Sodom. The story of what looks like a tornado in Job 1:19 destroying the house that Job’s children were in and taking their lives is the example that Piper points out. However, the book of Job does not say that this was an act of judgment. It says that Satan was allowed to test Job.

Could God have prevented it from happening? Yes. Does Scripture teach that God caused these things to happen because He was judging Job? That is not how I read the story. Unfortunately, Piper quotes Romans 11 and calls it the response God gave Job. He also puts the references for Job 15:8 and 36:22 in the same parenthesis to show the similarities between Romans 11 and these two passages. However, Job 15 and 36 do not contain the words of God but rather Job’s friends, who most say often gave unbiblical counsel in the story of Job. All Piper had to do was turn over to Job 38 to find God’s response to Job. The idea there is not that unlike the words he quotes from Romans 11.

I think the proper conclusion is that God does sometimes use natural disasters to bring judgment. However, that is not always necessarily the case. We ought to be careful when calling things God’s judgment when we do not know the mind of God as Romans 11 says, “How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?’” This goes for the attacks on 9/11, earthquakes and tsunamis abroad, and tornadoes here at home.

It would have been correct for Piper to point out the devastation these tornadoes caused and say that they ought to serve as a wake up call to all of us that we are not promised another day. That seems to be the message of Luke 13:4-5 which Piper quotes. I don’t think Jesus is saying there that the tower fell as an act of God’s judgment. I think He is saying that life is brief and unless you repent you will perish spiritually. It would not make sense for Him to say that you will perish physically unless you repent considering we will all one day perish physically unless Christ returns before that time.

Piper has a very strong view of the sovereignty of God. Unfortunately, I think he has come to an unnecessary and unbiblical conclusion regarding why natural disasters happen as a result of that strong view. I too hold a very strong view of the sovereignty of God. John Piper and I are on the same team when it comes to Reformed doctrine. However, I think I have outlined a more biblical response to natural disasters above. Some natural disasters are God’s judgment. Not all of them are. We can use tragedy to proclaim repentance and faith to people as they consider their own mortality. We also ought to remember that God, in His sovereignty, is able to use even the most evil of situations for His glory and our good. The story of Joseph is a prime example (Genesis 37, 39-47, 50). Paul says as much in Romans 8:28, “And we know that God for those who love God all things work together for good,…”

Some have responded to Piper’s post with emotionalism and science. The emotional argument is that God doesn’t cause anyone to die. For them, the love of God is His supreme attribute and anything that conflicts with their view of His love must not be true. I would caution that we need to allow Scripture to guide what we believe to be true about God not our emotions. The other line of arguing makes a similar mistake. They say that tornadoes are a natural occurrence and that John Piper needs to read a science book to find out where tornadoes come from. The reality is that God is the Creator of nature and He is powerful over it (Luke 8:24). If God wanted to cause a tornado in order to judge people, He certainly could do it. He did something similar with the flood.

We must be careful to make sure that Scripture is our authority as we seek to know how God interacts with the world. If Scripture teaches that God causes all tornadoes as acts of judgment then we need to affirm that. I do not believe Scripture teaches that He does.

What do you think?