The changing attitudes towards natural disasters both in theology and society in general, and the impacts this can have, will be the subject of a seminar today given by Dr David Chester at the Faraday Institute.

Dr Chester explains that previously natural disasters were just seen as extreme physical events, but there is now an increasing emphasis on disasters as social constructs; that human choices and vulnerabilities can transform a natural process into a natural disaster.

He said: “Theological approaches mirror this shift; rather than asking how a loving God can allow disasters to happen, greater prominence is now being given to human sinfulness, manifested in national and international disparities in wealth, poverty and hazard preparedness.

“Consequently, a greater focus is placed on practical solutions, rather than merely trying to understand the nature of divine responsibility.”

He added: “It can be argued that these new approaches are synergetic: on the one hand allowing churches to engage more fully in disaster relief, whilst, on the other, enabling civil defence planners more effectively to use the often considerable human and financial resources of Christian communities and their charitable agencies.”

Dr David Chester is a Reader in Geography in the University of Liverpool and a graduate of Durham and Aberdeen Universities. As well as a Chartered Geologist, he is a non-stipendiary priest in the Church of England. For more than 30 years he has been engaged in research on various aspects of geophysical hazards, and recently has focused his research on strategies of hazard reduction and human responses to catastrophes.

The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion is an academic research enterprise based at St Edmund’s College. It considers topics from stem-cells and cloning to the Big Bang and the origins of the universe. The Institute provides accurate and up-to-date information to help inform and improve public understanding of the interaction between science and religion. It aims to make academic research accessible to the public through close links with a network of experts from diverse disciplines including astrophysics, geology, neuroscience, genetics, evolutionary biology, theology and history and philosophy of science.

The seminar takes place on Tuesday, 26 May from 1pm with lunch served from 12.30pm in the Garden Room, St Edmund’s College, Cambridge.
 

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