God in the Holocaust
Q: Where was God during the Holocaust?
A: He was in his Church and in and among his people, many of whom worked valiantly to rescue Jews and to battle the evil of Hitler. The same horrible, satanic evil of Nazism was also used by God to challenge many of his saints to heroic acts of faith, even on behalf of many who did not believe in Jesus as Messiah and Savior.
As for the Holocaust itself, while its evil was horrendous, this doesn’t mean that God was not active. The end of the evil was not only a military victory or a political victory but a spiritual victory. However, darkness will continue to try overtaking God’s people until the end of time.
For a greater personal and theological understanding of the topic, please see How Can God Allow Evil to Happen?, a previous blog entry. Besides the information it holds, it also refers to Why Suffering and Death?, a column I wrote in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist murders.
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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.
posted by Xrysostom | 11:37
1 Comments:
Pr. Snyder,
Perhaps you could speak to the Eastern Orthodox use and concept of iconic theology. If I can summarize, their principal is that just as we are made in the image of God and that image is seen through Christ, so do the icons of the Saints bear their image and Christ who is in them. Thus, for the East, veneration (or worship) of an icon isn't so much in the Saint, but Christ's grace inherent in the Saint.
Pax,
- Stan
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