California Wildfires and Our Search for God When Disaster Strikes

Wildfires have raged and ravaged Greater Los Angeles for over four days, destroying much of America’s most populous county. The fires have destroyed thousands of structures, forced tens of thousands of residents to flee, and caused economic damage estimated in the tens of billions of dollars.

Five fires are burning simultaneously, fueled by exceedingly strong Santa Ana winds and dry conditions. In particular, the Palisades Fire has destroyed thousands of homes in the affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood. Regional fire resources are stretched to the limit, with more firefighting personal and assets being marshalled from neighboring states, plus Florida and Canada.

Thousands of people are facing the heartbreaking reality that they have lost everything.

In an interview, one couple broke down crying, reflecting on the 60 years they spent in their now destroyed home:

91-Year-Old Pasadena resident speaks on losing his home of 60 Years in California fire:

“I’m going to break down again. It’s my whole life. I’m okay. Even though I’m 91 years old, I’ll start over again.”
pic.twitter.com/7a7LL8MI0j

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 8, 2025

When disasters strike, human beings grieve – this is a normal, natural and good response.

While mourning, people usually don’t need philosophical answers to their pain and suffering. They need others to come alongside them, sit with them, and grieve with them.

But there is a time when those philosophical problems must be addressed. Because after times of tragedy, the spiritually curious often ask, “Where is God amid all this evil and suffering?”

It’s a timeless question.

The 18th century French writer and philosopher François-Marie Arouet’s (also known as Voltaire) skepticism of the Christian God was rooted, in part, in the problem of evil.

Voltaire explored the problem in his poem “The Lisbon Earthquake: An Inquiry into the Axiom.” His poem was sparked by the 1755 All Saints’ Day Earthquake in Lisbon, Portugal which killed an estimated 50,000 people.

He wrote,

As the dying voices call out, will you dare respond

To this appalling spectacle of smoldering ashes with:

“This is the necessary effect of the eternal laws

Freely chosen by God”?

Seeing this mass of victims, will you say,

“God is avenged. Their death is the price of their crimes”?

What crime, what fault had the young committed,

Who lie bleeding at their mother’s breast?

Did fallen Lisbon indulge in more vices Than

London or Paris, which live in pleasure?

When tragedy or disaster strikes, we can be quick to cry out like Job: “I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me” (Job 30:20, ESV).

When considering why God might permit natural evils to occur – like the wildfires in Los Angeles – there are three things to keep in mind.

Free Will

Christians affirm God created human beings with free will – that is, they can make moral choices for good or for evil.

The great 5th century theologian St. Augustine of Hippo once observed in his work On Grace and Free Will,

There is, to begin with, the fact that God’s precepts themselves would be of no use to a man unless he had free choice of will, so that by performing them he might obtain the promised rewards.

Professor Richard Swinburne, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Oxford, has defended the existence of God in the face of natural evil using the free will argument.

In his journal article “Natural Evil,” Swinburne argues that the laws of nature must behave in regular and predictable patterns if human beings are to freely interact with our environment. He writes,

If we are to know the effects of our actions, things must behave in regular ways. Only if my action is going to have an effect similar to that of similar actions done by others on other occasions can I know what effect that action is going to have.

We don’t know the cause of the wildfires in Los Angeles. Was human action the cause? Did governmental negligence play into the problem? Were these fires avoidable with better management, preparation and water collection?

Hopefully we’ll get answers to these questions. As Swinburne contends, human actions – and inactions – must have consequences. Without the predictable cause and effect of certain actions, our world would descend into chaos.

Swinburne also argues that natural evils give mankind opportunities to learn how to behave:

If men are to have the opportunity by their actions or negligence to bring about evil consequences in the distant future, or to avoid doing so, they must know the long-term consequences of their actions, and the most sure inductive knowledge of those consequences can only come from past human history.

In other words, only through knowing the potential effects of our actions can human beings make moral choices and thereby exercise their free will.

In addition, Swinburne points out that people are more likely to take precautions against natural disasters if they, or those close to them, have suffered from them:

Proximity to experience gives more certain knowledge. It is notorious that people are much more inclined to take precautions against disaster if they have suffered before themselves or if a similar disaster has happened to those close to them than if they are warned of the need for precaution by some impersonal distant authority. A man is far more inclined to take precautions against fire or burglary if he or his neighbors have suffered.

So, part of the reason God might permit natural evils is so human beings can take added precautions going forward.

While these philosophical considerations might help us think through why God allows natural evils, they’re not very emotionally satisfying answers to the problem of evil. Thankfully, Christianity provides other explanations.

The Redemption of Evil

Christians affirm that, while evil is not an ontological good in and of itself, God can use suffering for good.

Indeed, God has far greater plans for us than our current material wealth, health and satisfaction. As we read in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.” God can use our temporal suffering for our eternal gain.

Christian philosophers William Lane Craig and J.P. Moreland write,

As finite persons, we are limited in space and time, in intelligence and insight. But the transcendent and sovereign God sees the end of history from its beginning and providentially orders history so that his purposes are ultimately achieved through human free decisions.

In order to achieve his ends God may well have to put up with certain evils along the way. Evils that appear pointless or unnecessary to us within our limited framework may be seen to have been justly permitted from within God’s wider framework.

Christians especially should take heart in God’s promises to use our sufferings for our good: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28, ESV).

The Incarnation and Cross

Lastly, Christians must remember that God did not leave us to suffer on our own.

Rather, he took on human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ – who is true God and true man – and deliberately chose to suffer because of and for us on a cross. He did so because He loves us.

Christian philosopher Alvin Plantinga has said this well:

As the Christian sees things, God does not stand by, coolly observing the suffering of his creatures. He enters into and shares our suffering. He endures the anguish of seeing his son, the second person of the Trinity, consigned to the bitterly cruel and shameful death of the cross.

So, if you, your family or friends have been affected by the tragedy unfolding in California – or any other form of suffering – remember that God knows how you feel. He has entered our world and taken suffering onto Himself on the cross.

Through His suffering, He has redeemed the world. If God can redeem the suffering of His Son, perhaps He can enter into and redeem your suffering as well.

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Revelation 21:4, ESV).

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Related articles and resources:

Counseling Consultation & Referrals

Coping With Disaster

Facing Tragedy

Mental Health Resources

How to Help Your Kids Process Tragic News

Talking to Children About Tragic Events

True Crime: Learning About Life Through Studying Death

When God Allows Suffering

C.S. Lewis and Answers to the Problem of Pain

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