God, the Holocaust and Etty Hillesum
One rather shocking question is why did God let the Holocaust happen. Let me now try to answer the question. Your views may not be mine but atleast we'll have thought about it :)
Firstly, while the Holocaust was by no means Christian, the shocking truth is it could never have happened without the centuries of Church persecution of the Jews which came before it and a theology that demonised them.
Secondly, the Holocaust is a prime example of the evil humanity is capable of perpetrating. We may not know the reasons why God allowed this, yet God shared the suffering of His chosen people. He was, like believing Jews know only too well, not distant.
Finally, we are inclined by nature toward selfishness and sin so in this view He is God the omnipotent, the all-powerful Creator, but He is not omnibenevolent because He did not create our souls in a way that predispositioned us all for salvation.
Nicholas Wolterstorff, writing against the grain of centuries of Christian theology, states the seemingly obvious: “Given that all human actions are temporal,” he reasons, “those actions of God which are ‘response’ are temporal as well.”
Personally, I've read quite a few books on the subject matter but yet again I like particulary what Rowan Williams said in ending the following talk with Reza Shah-Kazemi about Etty Hillesum.
[media=https://youtu.be/jrUoNsbphCs]
Firstly, while the Holocaust was by no means Christian, the shocking truth is it could never have happened without the centuries of Church persecution of the Jews which came before it and a theology that demonised them.
Secondly, the Holocaust is a prime example of the evil humanity is capable of perpetrating. We may not know the reasons why God allowed this, yet God shared the suffering of His chosen people. He was, like believing Jews know only too well, not distant.
Finally, we are inclined by nature toward selfishness and sin so in this view He is God the omnipotent, the all-powerful Creator, but He is not omnibenevolent because He did not create our souls in a way that predispositioned us all for salvation.
Nicholas Wolterstorff, writing against the grain of centuries of Christian theology, states the seemingly obvious: “Given that all human actions are temporal,” he reasons, “those actions of God which are ‘response’ are temporal as well.”
Personally, I've read quite a few books on the subject matter but yet again I like particulary what Rowan Williams said in ending the following talk with Reza Shah-Kazemi about Etty Hillesum.
[media=https://youtu.be/jrUoNsbphCs]
