Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • NPR

    'He Has A Reason': How Natural Disasters Test The Faithful

    Spiritual leaders have long offered such counsel in times of human suffering. Theologians even have a term for efforts to explain why God and evil can coexist: theodicy.
    by Tom Gjelten Sep 04, 2017 3 minutes
    Mark Scott, chair of the department of religious studies at Thorneloe University in Sudbury, Ontario, says evil is a "universally recognized" threat to faith. "People in the midst of suffering often feel abandoned by God," he says.

    In churches across Houston on Sunday, pastors struggled to tell their parishioners why a God they believed to be good might have allowed a storm of Biblical proportion to flood their city.

    "God causes it to happen, but He has a reason," Pastor Gary Smith told the worshippers at Fifth Ward Church of Christ in northeast Houston. "We don't comprehend what God has planned for us."

    Spiritual leaders have long offered such counsel in times of human suffering. For people who

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from NPR

    NPR2 min read
    Tesla Recalls Cybertruck Over Sticky Problem. Blame It On — Yes — Soap
    Accelerator pedals on the new Cybertrucks can get stuck, a potentially dangerous production flaw. The reason why they're so sticky is soap.
    NPR1 min read
    Amsterdam Was Flooded With Tourists In 2023, So It Won't Allow Any More Hotels
    Twenty-six hotels that already have permits can move forward, but after that a hotel can only be built if one shuts down. Tourists spent about 20.7 million nights in Amsterdam hotels last year.
    NPR3 min readDiet & Nutrition
    What World War II Taught Us About How To Help Starving People Today
    The modern study of the starvation was sparked by the liberation of concentration camp survivors. U.S. and British soldiers rushed to feed them — and yet they sometimes perished.

    Related Books & Audiobooks