Let me tell you here first, \u201ctrust in God\u201d has never floated my boat as a viable answer to religious questions.\u00a0<\/strong>From a student notebook<\/p>\n On the day after Christmas 2004, the third strongest earthquake ever measured, deep under the Indian Ocean, caused a tsunami that resulted in the deaths of close to 250,000 people. The vast majority of those who lost their lives were among the poorest people on the planet, the very people who are often most vulnerable to natural disasters. Two months later, Ted Honey, a vicar in the Church of England with twenty years of experience as a priest, gave a Ted Talk that he introduced as follows:<\/p>\n On December 26th last year, just two months ago,<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>that underwater earthquake triggered the tsunami.<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>And two weeks later, Sunday morning, 9th of January,<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>I found myself standing in front of my congregation \u2014<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>intelligent, well-meaning, mostly thoughtful Christian people \u2014<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>and I needed to express, on their behalf, our feelings and our questions.<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>I had my own personal responses, but I also have a public role,<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>and something needed to be said.<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>And this is what I said.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n