With one exception the Bible seems pretty clear on this issue. The biblical writers believed God used wind to cause the waters of the great flood to subside (Genesis 8:1); he fed the wandering Hebrews with quail, which he brought to their camp by wind (Numbers 11:31). The Lord parted the waters of the sea by a strong east wind to facilitate the Hebrews’ escape from Egypt (Exodus 14:21), and sent wind to cause the sea to cover over and drown the pursuing Egyptian armies (Exodus 15:10). It is well attested that the biblical writers believed that God controls the winds (Psalm 135:7; 148:7-8; Isaiah 11:15; Jeremiah 10:13; 49:36; Jonah 1:4)—and everything else, as well.

     Oddly, however, the writer of the Gospel of John portrays Jesus remarking that the wind obeys no commands: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but don’t know whence it comes or whither it goes” (John 3:8). In other words the wind is a free agent, under no controls. But Matthew (8:26-27), Mark (4:39, 41) and Luke (8:24-25) in one shared story portray even Jesus controlling wind.

     The statement in John attributed to Jesus about the wind’s independence approximates the popular modern view that wind blows hither and thither at random, but neither Jesus nor the popular modern view is quite accurate. Scientific study shows that wind does have some set directions. Wind “is caused by the difference in pressure from one point on the earth's surface to another. The air moving from the area of higher pressure to the area of lower pressure is called wind. The air does not move directly from the point of highest pressure to the point of lowest pressure. The earth's rotation affects the air flow by deflecting it to the right. This effect is called the Coriolis Effect. In the Northern Hemisphere, this [effect] causes air to flow clockwise around high pressure areas and counter-clockwise around low pressure areas.” The directions are reversed for the Southern Hemisphere. Generally, the difference in pressure across the globe is caused by the uneven heating of the earth's surface from the sun. http://www.weatherdudes.com/facts_display.php?fact_id=35

     If one believes that God controls everything, including wind, one would have to assume on the basis of scientific observations that God has established a set pattern for winds to follow, for they do function according to the observed pattern, more or less with regularity. Apparently God only gets involved in wind movements when he wants to reward or punish. But if that is true, Then God is involved with wind movement only now and then. His established system normally directs the usual course of the winds by the heating and cooling of the earth from day to day. But this logic leads to the conclusion that God is not always “hands-on” (as it were) personally directing the movement of wind 24/7. And if this rationale be applied to everything in the universe, then God, it appears, normally runs things in the natural world by set programs that do not require continual personal oversight. In other words the wind desk of the universe is generally automatically controlled.

     Of course, it is possible that God personally “mans” (as it were) the wind desk of the universe at all times, and every gentle summer breeze or frosty “nor’easter” is under his direct control. But such logic raises the disturbing question of divine ethics. The recent devastation and death caused by strong winds and tornados across the south seem a lot more like a case of someone falling asleep on duty, or a case of disproportionate treatment, rather than anything approximating justice—Job complained, among other things, about a similar use of wind (Job1:18-19). But, then, who knows for sure what goes on in omniscient divine brains (so to speak).

     For my part, I simply cannot imagine that God is personally directing the course of every wind that blows in the cosmos, because we would then have to imagine him personally playing around with water spouts and “dust devils.” These wind-produced phenomena are smaller cousins to tornadoes, and the smaller ones are not particularly dangerous. If God is controlling everything, we would have to imagine him, perhaps amusing himself, at play with innocuous dust devils and water spouts—what with having too much time on his hands (as it were), because normally the set programs do most of the work.

     Perhaps that is what happened several weeks ago. At the end of April devastating winds and tornadoes ripped through the South causing extensive property damage and the deaths of more than 300 people. Were these winds divine “justice,” natural phenomena, or was God perhaps preoccupied with wind-play on Mars or in Arizona, while the devastating winds on earth simply escaped his notice? For people of traditional faith such disturbing questions have the character of “catch 22”—they can’t really be answered without raising other disturbing questions.

Charles W. Hedrick
Professor Emeritus
Missouri State University

Posted by Charles Hedrick at 8:41am