Thread by @TheRaDR

Theodicy (why people suffer) quick thread.

https://twitter.com/rachelhora1/status/1026618205366874112

1) “fallen world” is really Christian language. Don’t have time to unpack now, but will later sometime.

2) here’s one thing with some of my theodicy in it: forward.com/life/faith/383…

“It’s upon each of us to take responsibility for our role in everyone’s political, economic, environmental and social well-being — and to not pass the theological buck to a deity who has done nothing if not give us the power of free will, the power to heal or to hurt...”

3) here’s another. forward.com/opinion/372844…

“I understand the desire for certainty and clear answers, I really do. But not even the voice of God in the Biblical whirlwind is willing to come forth with strong statements about why it is that people suffer....”

“The Bible does make clear, however, that our job is to do everything in our power to prevent suffering, how — and whenever we can.”

Of course, some pain is inevitable; we are frail creatures living in imperfect bodies, and we were never promised a life free of pain. But being poor, being ill, being, even momentarily, not #blessed in every way, is not a moral failing.

All the more so if you’re caught in human-created systems of inequality.

If you’re poor or sick, it’s not your fault.

If you’re suffering, it’s all of our responsibility.

Why do we have free will? It’s the essence of what makes us human. And questioning—using our power of free will to interrogate all our assumptions, including to interrogate or challenge God, is part of that. Abraham did it. So did Moses. So can you.

Our free will doesn’t limit God’s creation, it’s part of it. This is part of (or the essence of, depending on who you ask) what it means to be created in the divine image. And you see it reiterated at the end of Job.

This is why the notion of covenant has any meaning. Because we choose to enter it and can choose not to.