How
could God have allowed the [space shuttle] Columbia disaster? These
were good people, with families, doing good work for science and their
countries.
 f there’s a theological lesson
to be learned from the sudden disintegration of the space shuttle Columbia
in January 2003—and the tragic loss of the crewmember’s lives—the
lesson is not to be found in the virtue or morality of the crew. God will
judge their personal lives and their work, but the disaster itself should
not be seen as a direct act of God. Instead, it should be understood in the
context of an intricate interplay of human
free will that points to one chillingly
simple issue: overconfidence in human reason.
Overconfidence
in Human Reason
When the insulation from the
fuel tank struck the shuttle’s left wing at liftoff, the mission could
have been aborted on the spot. Had the shuttle been brought back immediately
to the ground, engineers might have discovered the true extent of the damage,
or they might have discovered some other pre-existing structural problems.
Of course, the decision to cancel the mission would have had an enormous
cost, financially and politically. Instead, it was decided, according to
all the available resources and within all the limits of human reason, that
there was no danger to the spacecraft, and the mission continued.
“Rest
Assurred”
So consider that decision. Rest
assured, we can see no danger to the mission. Such is the assurance of
reason. And while you’re at it, now consider some other common statements
based in nothing but human reason. There’s nothing wrong with lifestyles
defiant of chastity. There’s nothing wrong with divorce. There’s
nothing wrong with birth control. There’s nothing wrong with abortion.
These are all assurances made by those who
dissent from the true
Faith of the Church. And fine assurances they are.
Remember the Columbia.
A
Warning
And so the lesson here is a lesson
about warning. If you put all of your trust in your own self-confidence,
you’re headed for eventual disaster. But if you understand the mystic
ramifications of God’s love, and
humbly accept and
surrender to them despite the inconvenience,
and let them be your guide in every moment of uncertainty, then you do have
good reason to rest assured.
No
advertising—no sponsor—just the simple truth . . .
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