Blitzer tells atheist tornado survivor:"You gotta thank the Lord"

Yes, really. You are trying to rationalize suffering as a something to be viewed positively. You seem to believe that "God" allowed the tornado to happen, to teach people some kind of lesson of "spiritual maturity." You even mentioned:



aka "tough love."

If I'm not mistaken, doesn't God use death to teach lessons in the Old Testament? One question I have regarding that, how can He give mankind the gift of free will, then punish them for their choices with death. Doesn't make sense.