California Wildfires: Moral, or Natural Evil?

Literally since Adam and Eve, humans have been trying to figure out who to blame for one problem, or another in their life, or the world. We want to know who is responsible, we want answers and we want accountability, except of course if it’s our fault.

We’ve all watched the TV and social media reports of the horrific wildfire damage in the Los Angeles area. And it is horrific! Not only have dozens of lives been lost, but tens of thousands of people are homeless. And while there were many expensive homes destroyed, most of the homes lost were owned by middle class families who may not have had adequate insurance coverage. Their lives will never be the same. So, whose fault are these fires? Is it an “act of God” or of man?

Theologians generally classify bad things, or suffering as being caused by one of four sources, either God, Satan, “Moral Evil,” or “Natural Evil.”

Moral Evil is the result of sinful, foolish, or even unintentional bad, or unwise human choices. A drunk driver crosses the road and kills an innocent stranger, or themself. Or a teenager makes a foolish decision to climb a mountain on a bet and gets killed, or injured. Or an airline mechanic forgets to tighten a lug nut on a critical component and unintentionally causes an a plane to crash. Only humans can commit moral evil, unless you want to include Satan in that camp. Most theologians do not.

Natural Evil is just as it sounds. It is the result of natural laws, not caused by humans. A tornado rips through a town, or too much rain causes a flood. God created gravity which causes water to run naturally downhill which is critical for rivers to carry water to drier areas, but it can also destroy. And natural wildfires have been burning forests for thousands of years clearing away underbrush. Long before there were humans living in these areas, there were tornados, floods and wildfires. Were they “evil” when no humans were affected?

Here’s where it gets tricky; It’s evident from the Bible that ever since the Fall of man, nature fell, or was corrupted as well. Does God wake up and order three floods and a hurricane for Tuesday? Not necessarily. However God has caused floods. He caused the plagues experienced by the Egyptians and sent snakes to punish the Israelites. God even caused the walls to fall around Jericho. He didn’t simple permit those things to happen, he caused them. Does that make God the cause of all natural disasters? No. Christians have always assumed that in most cases God simply allows natural laws to take their course. And while Satan caused the wind which brought the house down killing all Job’s children, we have little evidence Satan has control of nature.

However, humans can and do make moral decisions which can cause moral evil. There’s speculation that some of the California wildfires were caused by downed electrical wires, arson, or careless burning. But beyond who might have done what to cause these specific fires, are there humans who made choices decades ago where to build and what materials to use that made the damage so much worse than it should have been. Are there government officials who made mistakes, or just never thought about the effects of their poor, or uninformed decisions? Yes and Yes.

So how should Christians think and react to the California wildfires? The truth is we cannot know if God caused, or allowed them, or if it was the direct result of moral evil. However, do we really need to know who caused what to respond as Christians? It’s safe to think Jesus would be compassionate and generous to humans in distress whether it was their fault or not. In the story of the “Sheep and Goats” in Matthew Jesus does not seem to care how the “least of these” got hungry, thirsty, sick, or jailed. He just commanded us to take care of them. And certainly the “do unto others” command nails it down. If I lost everything in a wildfire I would need and want help and so would you.

However, Christian are also commanded to be wise. If I were a citizen of California I would insist on a thorough review of laws, regulations, and infrastructure to minimize the risk of wildfires in the future. Christians are called in Romans 13 to be good citizens. The U.S Congress needs to take a long look at the cost to all U.S citizens of just letting California do whatever it wants expecting the rest of the country to pay for foolish, or unwise choices they might continue to make. That should not be a political decision. Ultimatly it’s a moral decision. And good citizenship.

But when push come to shove, love and compassion should drive us to care for people even if they make foolish choices.