Moderate religion

Richard Dawkins writes in the Washington Post about the contortions 'moderate' religious people are going to to 'see God' in the hideous natural disaster in Haiti. When something so terrible happens I find myself going about my daily grind looking around me at people who I know 'believe' in god, who believe he is concerned about what they do, that Jesus loves them and watches over them, and I am almost overwhelmed with the sheer madness of it all. I want to scream at them - why? Why was god over here worrying about whether you were swearing or being nice to people when a bloody monstrous disaster was on it's way to Haiti to torture and kill and maim and widow and orphan?? And how can you just drop your few quid in the pot for the appeal and then carry on unthinkingly worshiping this terribly inept deity? Do you find another way to square the circle other than god is not omnipotent, not good, not terribly clever, not powerful enough to protect people, doesn't care or is actively vicious and nasty. I agree with Professor Dawkins in his grudging admiration for Pat Robertson at least being true to the bible and crediting god with deliberate destruction and murder as a reaction to disobedience. Otherwise, aren't you just making up whatever religion you like and calling it 'true'?

One last point, the comments as usual for a piece like this have mostly reasonable atheists with a couple of completely idiotic, ignorant religious nuts. Where are the reasonable, moderate people of faith explaining their views, enlightening the confusion, discussing their evidence? As usual they are missing, what a shame.