A humanist reflects on what faith means to survivors in the wake of disaster.
Article by AMANDA KNIEF for
HumanistNetworkNews.org
June 02, 2010
"Do you think God hates us all a little bit right now?"
The gentleman's question hung heavy in the humid Tennessee air as I looked out over debris--first torn out of ruined homes, now spilling out into the streets of his Nashville neighborhood--two weeks after devastating flash floods had swept over more than two-thirds of the state after torrential storms on May 2 and killed more than 30 people.
I was in Nashville volunteering with the American Red Cross (ARC) as part of the organization's humanitarian mission to assist victims of the disaster. For more than a week, I had walked up and down streets caked in river silt, dodging wrecked furniture, broken glass, soggy insulation and carpeting, and ruined possessions. I'd listened to residents' stories of amazing escapes from the raging flood waters and held their hands while many of them cried.
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