Does God Hate Central Heights Church?
Posted on April 25th, 2008 by blue collar scientistI ask because a tragic mishap has befallen this church:
As many as 70 people have been taken to hospital, several critically injured, after the auditorium floor collapsed at a church in Abbotsford, BC, Canada.
Around 9 pm PDT an approximately 900 square foot section of the stage and floor collapsed at a Starfield concert attended by more than 1200 people at Central Heights Church. Reports from the concert goers indicate that sound and lighting scaffolds collapsed onto the front section of the stage and mosh pit, causing the floor to collapse into the basement 10 feet below.
This is no laughing matter; it sounds like some people are likely to die, others will certainly face a long period of recovery and possibly disability. I’ve called the church to inquire about where to make a donation to help with the medical care or recovery costs of the victims; I haven’t heard back yet but I will post a link when I do.
I don’t want to minimize the magnitude of the tragedy by bringing theology into it. But I’m not the one doing that. The church’s own theology insists that the question in the headline be answered, since the church has made up its mind on the issue. In a FAQ on their website the church claims:
5. Why is there so much pain in my life?
Pain is part of the consequence of our rebellion against God.
They link to The Great Questions of Life as a way of learning more about their theology1:
The Effects of Sin
Sin brought disease and death into the world.
God is Just
God is a righteous judge. This means that He always does what is right…. Through Jesus, He wants to save us from sin and all of its effects. But if we won’t let Him, He will allow us to feel the evil results of our wrong actions.
God Knows Everything
God knows the past, present, and future. He sees, hears, and understands everything that happens. He knows your thoughts and why you do what you do. God knows what is best for you….
I’m quoting selectively, so run down the links and see. I think this church teaches that if something causes you pain, it’s your own damn fault.
Sometimes it is2. But in this particular case, my hope for the members and guests of this church who have been injured by this accident is that they escape being condemned as vicious god-hating madmen by their pastors, and that they benefit from the finest evidence-based medical care that can be brought to bear to heal their injuries, physical and otherwise.
- They also link to Answers in Genesis. [↩]
- Even when it is, that doesn’t mean that people in pain deserve to suffer. [↩]
Tags: Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, Central Heights Church, fundamentalism, religious extremism
April 26th, 2008 at 1:10 am
Thanks for the laugh! You are really grasping for some kind of spin on this.
I give it 6/10 at best.
April 26th, 2008 at 4:53 am
I’ve been to this church. I’ve heard the leaders teach that things like the Indonesian tsunami were due to God’s wrath about following other gods, and that Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans because God needed to judge homosexuals.
I am a Christian but I repudiate that theology. I think Blue Collar Scientist asks a very pertinent question, and I think his best wishes for the injured is in very good taste.
April 26th, 2008 at 5:20 am
I’m also a “backslider” from this church. I was taught that any big problem in my life was the result of my not “being right with God” or not “giving it up to God.” And I heard the same remarks about judging with Katrina used as an example of the consequences of opposing God’s will. It was basically an attempt to intimidate and threaten me into compliance, and make me feel bad and inadequate so I’d have to rely on them for support.
Christians who adopt this theology apply it with a double standard. When something bad happens to them, it is an attack from Satan, or just an accident, not something they brought upon themselves. When something bad happens to people who have different beliefs, though, then it’s divine judgement.
Blue Collar Scientist, I commend you that you are willing to help people that you obviously profoundly disagree with. That is living Jesus’ example better than many of his acknowledged followers.
April 26th, 2008 at 5:58 am
We are all very prone to pronounce judgement rather quickly and you can see it happen already. Remember what Jesus said when he asked if the people on which the tower had fallen were worse than the others. He said no they were not. Look up the story.
We are all sinful human beings and tragedy will happen to us all. We do not fully know the will of God.
However, having said that we also need to use experiences of life to ask ourselves how are we doing living our Christian lives? Use them positively and become more mature loving Christians.
Allow this tragedy to speak to all of us, Christian or Non-Christian.
April 26th, 2008 at 8:09 am
All I saw in the things that you quoted is that ‘pain is PART of the consequence of our rebellion against God’, and because He gave free will he allows us to feel the consequences of our own decisions and actions. God does not hate Central Heights, and the events of the evening were not an action of his hand against the people who were hurt. It was simply too many people jumping on a floor that was will-equipped to handle them. And that’s all.
April 26th, 2008 at 9:26 am
I totally agree.
I’ll go one step further, though: The tsunami was just a result of tectonic activity, and God does not hate Indonesia; and Hurricane Katrina was just a hurricane, and not God’s divine judgement on New Orleans.
Will you take that step with me?
April 26th, 2008 at 9:58 am
“All I saw in the things that you quoted is that ‘pain is PART of the consequence of our rebellion against God’”
Umm, yeah Niki, but you know what this actually means, right? That PART of the consequence for rebelling against god is pain, but there are more consequences than just that. Like death, and especially really gory ones like getting drowned in a hurricane or tsunami, sickness like AIDS, getting eaten by bears if you are a child who makes fun of a holy man, and so on.
By the way, I’ll take the BCS challenge, and agree with him: This tragedy was merely the result of some sort of mechanical failure, not god’s wrath; Katrina was not god’s wrath; the tsunami was not god’s wrath; and these people deserve the compassion and support that BCS has expressed for them, whilst also holding them accountable for error.
April 26th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Hello,
My brother is actually the bass player for Starfield. So I’ve heard first hand of what has happened. He said that it was the craziest “out of body” experience as he was closest to the floor falling besides going down with it. He told himself that he just had to wake up, that it was all a dream. Then reality kicked in, he jumped in the hole, and started the “rescue” process. I have talked to all the band members, and they are doing ok. Very shaken up, but as my brother said, it puts everything into perspective.
All I have to say is that this is a discussion that has been happening since Jesus ascended into heaven. And honestly, I don’t think either side of this argument really are ever going to know the full truth. But thats ok. Thats the brilliance of God. He gave us the free will to discuss these things and I actually think that was His plan. This kind of dialogue is rad. I do tend to fall on the side of this being part of the world functioning on its own, like God intended it to when He set it into motion. But my Grandmother tends to disagree with me. Hahah.
Lets keep this dialogue going. Thanks to “Blue Collar Scientist” for starting this on his blog.
Sincerely,
Mat
April 26th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
I’ve been to central heights church, and i actually enjoy the sermons and all the people going there.
God does not hate central heights. If he did, there would have been tons of people seriously injured, and at least one death
April 27th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Pain is a result of sin but the reference here is more to the emotional/spiritual pain that we all suffer. Physical pain is not exactly what was meant in such a quote. Animals can feel a physiological response known as pain, but that is different, wouldn’t you agree.
Being a Christain in no way means that you will be immune from tragedy. In fact, it usually means quite the opposite as many people are persecuted for their faith.
We believe that all things work for good for those who believe - even if a first glance it would seem like a tragedy. I’m not claiming that I know what good will come of this at this point, but maybe the fact that we, as intellegent people, are right now discussing the possible meanings is one of the positive outcomes. Just a thought.
And yes, I am a member of this church.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
“I think this church teaches that if something causes you pain, it’s your own damn fault.” (Does God Hate Central Heights Church?
Posted on April 25th, 2008 by blue collar scientist)
If you go to the website (http://www.centralheightschurch.com/christian-faith/spiritual-questions.html)l this qoute on pain was not written towards last Friday night. This church is very much wanting to help in anyway possible. It was an accident, and that is all. This quote came from the spiritual questions for everyday life on their website. If you want to point, you need some real evidence for what you said about this Church. It’s not fair to pick something out to satisfy your own argument. Try reading all of questions in context! Plus there is nothing about the tragedy yet except that the services were at CBC this last Sunday.
I can assure you that in no way is Central Heights Church saying that the people who fell into the hole deserved what happened.
In this life on earth we will all go through some pretty tough things, but we need to realize that God is not out to get us, and realize that He loves us so much. He went throu, No this is not the people who fell into the holes fault, it just happened. As Niki above said, “It was simply too many people jumping on a floor that was ill-equipped to handle them. And that’s all.” These kids were celebrating what God has done in their lives and what He will continue to do even after this accident that could of been so much worse.
What about the miracle that no lives were taken?