Where is God in this time of plague?

The Hebrew scriptures tell the story of God leading Moses and the Israelites from the bondage of slavery in Egypt to freedom in the land of Canaan.

Because of the Pharaoh’s reluctance to release the Israelites, God smote his subjects with 10 fearful plagues, resulting in the deaths of many Egyptians.

This narrative seemingly portrays a partisan, brutal God who visited afflictions on only one group, sparing his favourites and creating the myth of a chosen people – and inspiring some dangerous, narrow-minded divinity concepts.

The notion of a divinely elected group has had disastrous effects in human history.

But it also contains the seeds of a more universal theology – that of a deity who encourages compassion for the weak and oppressed, advocating a world where all humanity has intrinsic value.

Between 1347 and the early 1350s, the Black Death plague originated in central Asia, spreading along the trade route of the Silk Road and throughout Europe, killing an estimated 25 million to 30 million people – about 50% of the population of the most affected countries.

As often happens, great disasters drive humanity to seek supernatural causes.

The French king blamed the Black Death on the conjunction of three planets in 1345.

Church leaders preached that it was God’s punishment for depravity, mostly identified as turning away from the doctrines of the church and ignoring God’s call to salvation.

Despair and a sense of impotence led to the search for scapegoats, often identified as infidels, those holding a belief other than the recognisably orthodox.

Jews, Muslims, foreigners, even wandering friars, beggars and lepers were blamed and often killed in a futile attempt to halt the spreading darkness.

Jews, possibly because of their supposed claims of election as God’s chosen and labelled as “Christ killers”, were particularly targeted, resulting in the decimation of many Jewish communities.

Yet, among this confusion, some illumination appeared. A shift in world views emerged, changing the course of history for the better.

The overwhelming control of the church began to be questioned, with its teachings of an omnipotent divinity apparently unable to offer much solace.

This more humanist view led to increased attention to the human contribution to world events – such as the power of human imagination and creativity, which generated the Italian Renaissance – emphasising the value of life in this world rather than the next and breaking the authoritative grip of the church over artistic expression.

The Reformation also moderated and questioned the dominance of the established church.

Many pandemics – the Great Plague of Marseille and the smallpox epidemic of the 18th century, the great flu pandemic after World War 1, the HIV/Aids pandemic of the mid-20th century, and the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak of 2002 to 2004 – displayed similar characteristics despite being separated by centuries.

It is the general tendency for outbreaks to occur initially among the poor and marginalised, and for the inclination to search for supernatural causes, to lay blame on scapegoats and to question various ignorant superstitions, ironically producing numerous positive outcomes.

Edward Jenner, in developing a vaccination for smallpox, encouraged a more ethical world, in which international human rights were recognised, and advocated tolerance of a greater variety of religious traditions and lifestyles.

The concept of a deity intervening in human affairs is common to most religious traditions.

Too often, this has the debilitating effect of encouraging reliance on the divine as the cause and solution to all problems and catastrophes, depriving humans of their own responsibility for making well-considered, responsible choices.

The place of religion and the intervention of God in situations of plagues are ambivalent and often contradictory, frequently ascribing to God both the cause and the cure of the terrifying disease.

God is believed to have sent the scourge to rid the world of the iniquity of some of his creatures, but is then appealed to for deliverance.

What kind of omnipotent, all-compassionate divinity has favourites, sends plagues to punish the disobedient but allows suffering to strike randomly and arbitrarily?

Too often, unscrupulous religious leaders try to enhance their own status by offering fraudulent, miraculous cures, including demanding payment for driving out demons or peddling snake oil potions and miracle shawls for protection.

Religious authority Karen Armstrong commented:“Like any human idea, the notion of God can be exploited and abused.”

To claim we should all pray for deliverance appears to be rather fatuous because what are the devotees asking for?

Are they calling on God to intervene on a punishment He sent?

If, however, this contemplation focuses the mind to recognise individual human responsibility – that our exercise of free choice can alleviate suffering and change the course of events for the good – then persons of all faiths and non-faiths can act as moral agents in the best possible way.

The only true test of authentic religion is that it should strive for compassion and altruism, making us kinder, more sensitive people who express sympathy and reverence for all life on this planet.

So, how to tackle this new vision of Armageddon?

As rational beings, we are fully capable of finding solutions and creating new, inventive strategies.

We need to acknowledge that our own actions have brought us to this global crisis and our own actions can achieve transformation.

We need to acknowledge that pangolin scales, rhino horn and bats are not the panacea for all ailments, but are misused for selfish, callous, misguided human aspirations that bring death and destruction.

It’s time we stopped trafficking wild animals; banned markets where their carcases are traded; redirected our efforts towards clean industries; set in place a greener economy; and created ethical, sustainable systems, putting people and the planet first.

Rather than propping up polluting, fossil fuel-based industries that feed the climate and nature crisis, we need to speed up the development of renewable, clean, safe energy.

We must renew our sense of interconnectivity with all of nature and with every living being on this fragile planet.

We’re all in this together. No nation, race, gender or religious tradition is more favoured than the other by the divine.

Such catastrophes cannot be blamed on Jews, homosexuals, foreigners, the Chinese – the other.

Call it Mother Nature, the Great Goddess, the Great Spirit, élan vital, the Cloud of Unknowing, or Nothing, but cultivate a renewed reverence for the irreplaceable value of the natural world in its myriad manifestations.

• Diesel has a doctorate in religious studies from the University of Natal

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