Its impossible to reflect on the origins of evil without bringing up the concept of free will. God created man with this idea of choice; the choice to believe and obey, or the choice to disobey. It was this free will that allowed Adam and Eve to fall from their initial glory and introduce evil and suffering into the world.We can justify a large amount of sustained suffering by acknowledging that it actually benefits us and is not incompatible with God's loving nature.
We learn lessons both physically and spiritually that allows us to grow and mature according to God. Some suffering is used to spark revival or for a great advancement in his kingdom, cause after all we're here for his glory alone. We have the end to look forward to when God defeats evil and suffering once and for all and we share in his glorified kingdom.1:This film taxed me emotionally as I struggled to separate the arguments in the overwhelming setting of Auschwitz. I was speechless throughout most of the film and spiritually shocked by the end.
From the initial blasphemy by the arrogant Moche to Rabbi Akiba apostatizing at the end of the trial we were given a wide spectrum of powerful arguments in a very direct cut and dry method of delivery.The entire room held their breathe for the duration of the free will testimony given by Lieble which for me was the most heart wrenching point in this movie. Altogether I can say I've never been at such a heightened sense of emotion during a film before this. 2:I think we as Christians call all identify with Kuhn, the father of Mordechai not only for the defense of God during such blasphemy but for his sacrifice in place of his wayward son. In today’s world its hard not to feel like the only one in the room or the office with any sense or morality.
It's also very easy for us to look at the sorrow in today’s world and justify God's wrath by means of our own disobedience and his sovereign reign instead of pointing fingers back at him for the pain on this Earth.I think I pity, even more than Moche, the prison guard above all others. Bent on only survival he betrays not only God but his very own people as he relentlessly sees to the enslavement and death of his brothers.Its hard to eliminate a voice from this conversation and still obtain the same effect but I feel like Jacques just throws in an entirely separate argument. Instead of blaming God and working through these various questions like the others, he just denies religion altogether calling it childish.
His brief sociology of religion brings no real meat to the overall conversation. 3:This film does a great job of using irony to enhance the conversation and to get a few points across.The strongest instance being Rabbi Akiba, possibly one of the chosen 36, passionately apostatizing his faith in front of the entire trial. The stunned silence, not only in the trial but in the audience watching the film, indicates the magnitude of this twist. Its a perfect example that no matter how much we think we know about life, God, or right and wrong, the sovereign one can take our fickle minds and turn them upside down in an instance entirely changing what little perspective we had.
God and this life is to complex for us to put a label on or narrow down into a two page paper. As we always like to say in times of trouble God can use any loss or sorrow for the gains of his kingdom, no matter how complex or difficult the situation may be. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” 4:I think there are a few important things I either didn't highlight well enough or excluded altogether in my original statement, the first being that God in his sovereignty, is truly responsible for everything.
Even if we make mistakes and choose to disobey, He is still in control and gives final judgment over every consequence we live with. Another being the idea best expressed by the Rabbi, that even God's chosen people have succumbed to as much suffering as the unbelieving, and in most cases at the hands of these unbelievers.He takes disobedience very seriously and has the power to cleanse the entire Earth if need be. Apart from this idea of purgative suffering, we can also view this pain as tests that God places us in. Weather to grow and learn or self examination God allows this suffering to help us.As far as ruling out ideas we can obviously throw out the atheist remarks from Jacques and the blaspheming words of Moche, insisting that God is nothing more than a murderer.
I also want to throw out some of Khun's statements, I think that when dealing with situations like this we should questions God's motives.Examine the situation and pray for answers not in a blaspheming way but as a seeker of wisdom and as one who wants to be closer to God. 5:I find myself in a daily struggle with God, fighting through my worldly mindset and constantly questioning and justifying certain aspects of my life.Personally, it drives me to seek wisdom in the scripture but I can see in large groups where the many predispositions might get in the way of a very personal growth opportunity.
I know personally when it comes to group discussions I shy far away from being the center of discussion. I leave that business for those braver and more confident than I.Simply put, to employ this method of argumentative faith at a place like Cedarville would benefit everyone greatly. There are difficult questions that we will face in our life and if we're just fed the baby food of Christianity without any real challenge to our faith then we will crumple under the weight of this world.Much of today's christian population couldn't hold their own in an argument with anyone of a different religion, me included.
Fighting for what we believe in is becoming a lost art, we need to learn to dive into scripture's toughest subjects, knives ready to cut into the reddest meat of Christianity. 6:The problem of evil changed forever with the introduction of Jesus.There, the greatest evil that ever happened, both the greatest sin and the greatest suffering, is revealed as his wise and loving plan to bring about the greatest good, the salvation of the world from sin and suffering eternally. God cleaned up evil through the greatest sacrifice and simply left us with the task of repenting and believing.
Jesus gives us something to live for. We can endure this life now that there is a higher purpose and meaning to what we go through.We suffer for the gain of the Kingdom to come, for the final realization of perfection. We can now look at traumatic events, and through our grief, find meaning to and purpose to our suffering. 7:I think our biggest obligation when dealing with things like the Holocaust, World Trade Center, and Haiti is to not just brush it off as just God's plan and that's that.We need to suffer with them, identify with a world that is plagued by sin where suffering cannot be escaped.
Its impossible to look at someone who may have lost a loved one in a war and either God is using that situation for something good or that it's punishment for the sinful nature of humans.Just like Jesus suffered with us, we must suffer with others. 8:Without rewriting my entire statement and much of what has already been written my understanding of theodicy has been deepened and clarified. I still believe free will plays a large part in this discussion but a bigger picture has been drawn in my head.We can't just accept the suffering as an inherent cancer of being human, we need to seek understanding and refuge through the Word and what Jesus has done for us through his own suffering and the eventual triumph of evil.
We must remember its not a sin to mourn and share in the pain of others, the whole world is sick and we have the only “cure.”
