Many of us have observed that realistically God has separated domains (place/space) of influence. Dominion (authority) implies ownership with rights. There is the physical universe that God created to do what it does. The physical processes are necessary and obey strict laws. God doesn’t interfere. There is the spiritual domain through which we have intuition, communion with God, and spiritual growth in connection, love, morality, justice, and creativity, etc. There is the domain and dominion of people who are free to choose their path in life. God beckons but doesn’t interfere.

God is both “hands on and hands off.” God wants a relationship with us, inviting us, but of our free choice. We have the privilege of saying “No,” and going our own way. All-knowing leads to foreknowledge. God knows what we are likely to do just as we know our children and what misbehavior they're inclined to. But foreknowledge doesn’t mean destiny. We’re free to choose. By going our own way at times, we experience and learn good from evil.

God is hands-off the universe and its physics and outcomes, except for the purpose of miracles, the purpose for which is beyond our understanding. It sometimes shows authority, perhaps mercy, and perhaps some form of important chosen destiny. Who can know the mind of God?

We learn in Genesis 1:26-28, that tells us stories of creation from ancients who passed on knowledge to us, that “God blesses them [God’s created people] to ‘be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it.’”

Exactly what the Hebrew word translated “subdue” means is debatable. At its root “radah” refers to the strong part of a plant’s root. Strength would be a primary meaning. It could mean to be the strength of the earth and all that is in it. But languages gain meaning over time. While the word in Hebrew can mean “subjugating,” at the time of its writing it likely meant “authoritative, responsible stewardship or management rather than exploitative domination.”

From the Garden of Eden, that paradisiacal place, we moved from enjoyers to caretakers. The earth became our domain of stewardship to manage it. This casts our potential view of the physical events on earth in a different light. Whether we accept the responsibility or not, it isn’t God who is in charge but us. In this difficult learning environment, we see, we learn, and we conquer.

Are accidents and catastrophes part of God’s plan? To this question we might append such words as cruelty and uncaring? Or is this simply the result of a “hands-off” policy toward our physical environment and the impact on people? Is destruction “God’s will?” Or is this our responsibility to control?

The mystery of the afterlife and God's ultimate justice might take some of the sting out of it.

Let’s opt for the idea that God isn’t cruel, isn’t the author of destruction, and it’s our responsibility to get control over the earth, shepherding it for all of creation.

Are There Positive Outcomes From Catastrophes?

Catastrophes and other accidents are disruptions to life. They interrupt relationships, they interrupt personal and spiritual growth, and they interrupt purpose. We should view this as disastrous and not part of God’s plan for us.

The First Positive Outcome: Responsibility and Control

Responsibility and control come from observing, analyzing, taking responsibility for, and learning to control the physical processes of the earth so that people’s lives aren’t disrupted.

We see this happening in ocean monitoring that alerts people to tsunamis, earthquake monitors that alert people to coming earthquakes, volcano monitoring that alerts people to coming eruptions, and weather monitoring that alerts people to tornadoes, fires, hurricanes, mudslides, and violent storms. We are doing the important work of stewardship. We are learning that we can take control and are taming the resulting impact.

Disruption is part of our everyday life. We make plans and start off in one direction and, boom, something happens that changes our direction and we later find we were likely better off for it.

Beneficial Impact of Disruptors

Catastrophe is nature's ultimate disruption. When human beings face the catastrophe of harsh physical environments, our response is technological disruption (innovation) to tame it. We innovate (telemedicine, agriculture) specifically to prevent future catastrophes (disease, starvation).

We see examples of disruption all around us that often destroy jobs and even communities. These are often catastrophic. These are examples to us of the role of disruption. The beneficial impact is that disruptive technologies commonly make services more affordable, accessible, and efficient.

Necessity is the mother of invention. We can derive from the disruptions in the world around us what can come from disruption, even catastrophe. The music and movie recording industries have had endless disruption that moved us from large business selection of performers, which limited creative opportunities, to democratization in which anyone can create and distribute music and movies. Molded records were replaced by tape recordings which also enabled people to record at home, then by CD players, then by portable MP3 players, then by streaming MP3.

Agriculture is continuously innovative, removing hard labor from people that led to early deaths and automating it to be easier and faster. People no longer lean over all day picking cotton but use the cotton gin, or the corn, wheat, and soybean harvesters. One cotton gin replaced 50 to 100 people. This may have seemed catastrophic at the time as people lost their livelihood, but they mostly went on to other jobs and the gin made it possible to clothe hundreds of millions of people instead of thousands.

Beneficial disruptors improve efficiency, accessibility, and quality of life by replacing outdated systems. Key examples include telemedicine reducing healthcare barriers that lead to catastrophic disease and death, streaming services replacing physical media, and ride-sharing changing urban transportation.

• Solar energy and EVs are disrupting fossil fuel dependence, promoting sustainability in transportation and power generation and preventing environmental catastrophe.
• Similarly, connected devices, including smart lighting and thermostats, optimize energy usage and improve household efficiency and environmental impact.

One of the often overlooked examples of disruption is that each new innovation, while it may replace some jobs, creates many more jobs and opens up new avenues of innovation. Innovation is our response to the "hostility" or "difficulty" of the physical world. It is in catastrophe also.

1. Religion

We may look for something rock steady to hold onto in our religious life, but religion is ever-changing. In Hinduism, the root, Brahmanism, spread into the many Hindu religions. Buddhism, with its roots in Brahmanism, became a philosophy in which God is optional.

Israel was divided into the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and Southern Kingdom (Judah) around 922–931 BCE. The split occurred immediately following the death of King Solomon and the ascension of his son, Rehoboam, due to disputes over taxes and forced labor. The Samaritans separated from mainstream Judaism and the Judean community gradually, with the decisive, final schism occurring between the 4th century B.C.E. and the Hasmonean destruction of the Samaritan temple in 108 B.C.E. While the roots lie in the 8th-century B.C.E. Assyrian conquest and post-exilic tensions, the division solidified after the Samaritans built their rival temple on Mount Gerizim and were rejected by Judeans returning from the Babylonian exile.

Judaism split into many different major and minor sects that included Sadducee, Pharisee, Essene, Nazarene, Zealots, Samaritan, and Messianic, and then modern Orthodox, Ultra-orthodox Hasidic, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, Renewal, and the offshoot Kabbalah. Had the Jewish Temple and ancient Israel survived, would the annual sacrifices which were disruptive have become catastrophic?

Imagine 15.7 million Jews traveling to Jerusalem each year, with likely loss of jobs, debilitating travel and expense, inevitable travel and crowd accidents, 16 million animals slaughtered? The destruction of the Temple and nation by the Romans in 68 and 120 CE were catastrophic events, but they prevented endless catastrophe.

Christianity finds its roots in Jesus, who was Jewish, but is a completely different sect emphasizing love over law. Christianity began as gatherings in people’s homes, which was the purest form of the Jesus movement in which individuals collectively wrestled with Jesus’ teachings for inner transformation.

Later Christianity became more organized with Bishops and a hierarchy... This paradoxically led to a catastrophe in that teachings became standardized, limiting the teachings people could consider, and often leading to the church as an idol of God instead of an instrument of transformation.

To maintain its grip on power, the church violently destroyed any competing group, such as the Cathars, the Knights Templar, anyone doing worship considered pagan or witchcraft, and then protestants which led to over 100 years of war in Europe. This was very catastrophic.

Western Christianity split into Catholic and Protestant. Protestants demonized Catholicism and Mormonism as heretical which led to endless discrimination which was catastrophic for many who were deprived of their rights and opportunities.

In our current age, we’re seeing another revolution in religion in which younger generations insist on spiritual authenticity, no corruption, and social justice. Since 1900 church attendance has declined 1% a year as a percentage of the total population... It is catastrophic to many churches which don’t survive. But out of this is growing a focus on more local meetings with an emphasis more like the early church.

2. Social Disruption

As life moves forward, influenced by our compassion for each other, we make life more hospitable. The Sumerians, the ancient Egyptians, the Israelites/Jews, and the Greeks, all moved civilization forward through the creation of laws and priests. The catastrophes of people harming each other invited the creation of new laws for social order.

Sound law is fundamental in society for people who haven’t yet developed a strong sense of compassion, altruistic (divine) love, and regard for others and their possessions. It creates an equitable foundation for order and recompense, and is usually a response to some catastrophic event of people mistreating others.

The history of law is humanity's attempt to bring order out of chaos from catastrophes such as city-states attacking other city-states within political boundaries, or individuals killing other individuals for their property. Just as we build dams to stop floods (physical chaos), we build laws to stop injustice (social chaos). Both are acts of "Subduing the hostilities of the Earth" (Radah).

3. The Humanities

Historically, people with mental illnesses were frequently viewed as demonically possessed, cursed, or punished by God, leading to severe mistreatment, including execution, burning at the stake, and imprisonment. These severe outcomes were catastrophic to many. The catastrophe of loved ones being so severely mistreated eventually led to a better understanding of the mind.

Conclusion

We shouldn’t applaud disruption. We shouldn’t blame it on God. We should accept it for what it is: Moving life forward in understanding and appreciation, moving us toward greater responsibility for the earth and each other. By taking responsibility and improving the lives of all, we are co-creators with God.

Our burden is to wrestle with life to find the answers. We inch forward in understanding. Instead of asking, "Why did God do this to me?" we should ask, "How do we use our agency to fix this?"

Defense

How can you defend human suffering? You can’t. All you can do is rationalize why these things must be into a defensible scheme that blends theology with pragmatic realism. We live in an uncontrolled physical universe full of humans who are uncontrolled. That’s defensible in Theodicy.

A simple illustration: If a carpenter runs his bare hand over a board, he may get a splinter. It’s a hazard of the job and a consequence of a chosen life path. We learn to sand boards for others so they don’t get splinters. It’s not something for us to create blame. Certainly not to celebrate. But something to endure and respond to in a positive and constructive way.

1. The Defense of Physical Autonomy

If God prevented every mudslide or stopped every fire, the universe would not be a stable reality; it would be a dreamscape where gravity works one minute but not the next. For science, agriculture, and logic to exist, the physical world must operate by reliable, autonomous laws. God allows the physical domain its freedom so that we can exist in a consistent reality and be challenged by it.

2. The Defense of Human Dignity (The "Grow Up" Argument)

If God intervened to stop every catastrophe, human beings would remain perpetual infants. Genesis 1:28 (Radah/Subdue). If God does the subduing for us, God violates God’s own command. By stepping back ("Hands Off"), God dignifies humanity with the actual power of causality. The tragedy of the catastrophe is the price of the dignity of human agency.

3. The "Soul-Making" Defense

Irenaean and Augustinian theodicies offer distinct solutions to the problem of evil: Augustinian is a "soul-deciding" approach blaming human sin. Creation was perfect, humans broke it through original sin, and suffering is the penal consequence of that depravity.

Irenaeus argued for purposeful, imperfect creation designed for spiritual growth. Creation was intentionally made imperfect and challenging so that humans could undergo experiential learning and develop moral character. It’s a "soul-making" approach viewing evil as a tool for development.

In my approach, more like that of Irenaeus, and that of Judaism that sees Adam and Eve wanting to help God, curiosity overcame reason for Adam and Eve, just as God created us to do. Suffering is a consequence of individual choices. Suffering is not a punishment; it is the friction required for experiential learning. You cannot have courage without danger. You cannot have compassion without suffering. You cannot have ingenuity without problems. We are motivated to become co-creators with God to make this a better world with less suffering.