To you, Yahweh, I cry, my rock, do not be deaf to me! If you stay silent I shall be like those who sink into oblivion. Hear the sound of my prayer when I call upon you, when I raise my hands, Yahweh, towards your Holy of Holies. (Psalms 28: 1-2, NJB)
The age-old problem has reappeared once again, that is, the problem of evil. This past week, Pope Benedict XVI visited the Auschwitz concentration camp during a visit to Poland. As I read the account, while he did not in so many words blame God for what happened there, he did directly question why God let it happen. He questioned the silence of God in the face of the evil perpetrated there. I have an answer for him. It's called "free will".
My biblical studies have led me to conclude that we do in fact have free will. I know I am in direct contradiction to Martin Luther's The Bondage of the Will. In an introduction to this book (Packer and Johnston, 1990, pp. 44-45) it says, "in particular, the denial of free will was to Luther the foundation of the biblical doctrine of grace, and a hearty endorsement of that denial was the first step for anyone who would understand the Gospel and come to faith in God. The man who has not yet practically and experimentally learned the bondage of the will in sin has not yet comprehended any part of the Gospel." I respectfully disagree.
One very important translation error has led many to believe in predestination rather than free will. As Walter Wink puts it in his Engaging the Powers 1992, p.315): "The RSV created untold harm when it translated Matthew 10:29 as "not one sparrow will fall to the ground without your Father's will." The Greek reads simply "without your Father". Other translations supply what they feel to be the implied word: knowing, knowledge, leave, consent, etc. The proper meaning is clear from Luke' s parallel (Luke 12:6): "Yet not one of them is forgotten in God's sight. God is with even the smallest sufferer." God is not complicit in the sins of mankind. The problem is us.
Let us now go back to the Hebrew Bible and see what God himself said. "Today, I call heaven and earth to witness against you: I am offering you life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live, in the love of Yahweh your God, obeying his voice, holding fast to him; for in this your life consists, and on this depends the length of time that you stay in the country which Yahweh swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that he would give them." (Deuteronomy 30:19-20, NJB) Here God is clearly saying, "The choice is yours, not mine."
Again, back to Walter Wink (p.316): "The early Christians expected to be assaulted by the Powers. Never once do they seem puzzled by this fact. It would have been unthinkable for them to ask, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" ... In short, for the early church the problem of justifying the existence of evil in a world created by God can scarcely be said to have existed. The first Christians never - astonishingly! - blamed God for their unmerited sufferings... As Jesus said: "Blessed are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of man. Rejoice, when that day comes and dance for joy, look! - your reward will be great in heaven." (Luke 6:22-23, NJB). Of course the Powers will oppose you ... of course they will hunt you down like animals, deliver you to torturers, and even kill you ... Not one writer of the New Testament shows the slightest surprise over this."
And neither should we. By obsessing over the explanation over evil as a theological problem we ignore the practical work of the church in attempting to expose, confront, and overcome evil. We shrug our shoulders and say, "it was God's will", instead of trying to tame the rebellious Powers that work evil in our world. Let our prayers and our actions be put to the cause of the right, instead of blaming or questioning God for the sinful ways of humanity and the institutions of this world
Let us pray: O God, only you know the reason for the presence of evil we have seen in the past and continue to see in our world today. But it is only through you and your Son Jesus Christ that we can attempt to work by ourselves, with others, with the church, and with humanity to overcome evil in this world. Help us to "choose life", to reform the Powers of this world to stop their rebellion and serve you, that we may live in peace, which is your intention for us. Amen
Contributed by David
Published Sunday June 4, 2006
Liturgical Year B Week 28