The breaking news today was that Italy recorded the lowest number of deaths in over three weeks, thanks to social distancing and self-isolation. But wait, who forgot to thank God?
As we all know, there is a surplus of time and data packs nowadays, with people constantly searching for new ways to spend the same. Ranging from Netflix to Dalgona coffee, quaran-teens along with their parents are trying their best to ghost reality for a while. My tiny little bubble was recovering from conspiracy theories and Trump’s baptized label of the ‘Chinese Virus’. Until recently, a magazine article was shared with me. One which opened yet another tab in my mind and browser.
Coronavirus and God. That’s what it was titled. It is easy to predict the table of contents. The usual ‘this is god’s way of punishing the sinners’ discussion in the wake of a disaster. But what followed were a series of questions. That’s what I’m here to answer today!
Before we begin, let us assume that this pandemic is indeed an act of god. A test. A surprise trial run of Darwin’s theory. Now, if god exists, why do we suffer? Where is the supreme power then that protects us? I believe that even if this was a start-up initiated by god as a punishment for our backlogged sins, there’s only so much an external force can do. Come to think of it, the whole suffering part is self-initiated by us humans who refused to follow protocols deployed to handle the boom of god’s business. If god is the one who created this, isn’t it his responsibility to put an end to it too? So why has the almighty gone M.I.A amidst all of this? Some believers have even promised gifts to god if they are spared. Kind of like how we all pray the night before an exam. It’s all a test of faith. We ourselves blame god for ruining our plans for tomorrow and expect him to look after us in times of dire need. But do we really need god to throw us a lifejacket? After all, isn’t punishment for our sins an act of love from god itself? But then again, only through suffering can human beings face the dawn of realization. I hope we can face this dawn before the repercussions of climate change hits us up next.
Second question up for discussion is: If disease is a punishment from God, why do the innocent fall sick and die? In short, why does god pick the most beautiful flowers from the garden? Well, god keeps a naughty and nice list. Only this time, the naughty ones do get a gift. An undesirable one. So, if you think you’ve been nice, you might as well walk around without a mask on. On a more serious note, I think no one is truly innocent in this world. Everyone is a sinner one way or another. Unless one knows the algorithm behind the assortment into the two lists. All we know for sure is that the so-called ‘innocent’ is at the mercy of some miracle workers while serving their time in suffering. These children of god, a.k.a health workers are the one who would literally ‘nurse’ you back to life before you become one amongst the lord.
Last, but not least, since sinners never quit: If God is good, why did God create evil? The answer to this lies in the fact that there are two sides to a coin and a yin to a yang. Good cannot prevail if there is no evil. A world with only good would be a dangerous place. There would be no need for prayers and no requirement for hope. ‘Preach From Home’ wouldn’t have had such a cult-like following since there would be no need to seek relief in the first place. Also, this whole toilet paper crisis wouldn’t have hit us if people weren’t paranoid of a looming threat. God created evil so that there could be a balance and to always teach us a lesson that in the end, good prevails over evil.
Ranting about god and impending doom has made me realize that times like these are easier to cope up with if you have faith in facts. After all, one guy didn’t eat a bat somewhere thinking he would be leading people to the next rapture.
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