The occurrence of many significant events like the Holocaust has given rise to the debate about God. Jewish theologians have engaged in an endless debate regarding the attitude of God towards the Jews, who He regards as His children. With the memoirs of the evil of the holocaust still fresh in the mind of many people, Jewish theologians have sought ways of explaining this event. Jewish theologians argue that the event illustrates that God is not an all-powerful being at all times, that God was punishing the Jews, whereas others believe that the Jews were to blame.
Some Jewish theologians believe that God is not all-powerful and that He struggles to overcome evil in the world. This notion is held by those who posit that God is not powerful in all circumstances, thus explaining why He abandoned the Jews during the Holocaust. This thinking reinforces the idea that God at times allows evil to prevail because of his inability to subdue it. With this theodicy, the occurrence of the holocaust would be equated with an instance where God failed to defend His people
Other Jewish theologians believe that God is punishing the world, and this explains the evils that are in the world. Some Jewish theologians contend that God has allowed evil to come into the world as a way of punishing men and women for disobeying Him. According to this theodicy, the suffering of the Jews in the hands of Nazi is a result of God’s anger upon the Jews, who had turned against Him. Through this theodicy, many Jewish theologians assert that God punished the Jews by subjecting them to the horrors of the holocaust for disobeying Him.
Lastly, part of the Jewish theologians believes that the Jews are to blame for their fall from the righteousness. This school of thought posits that Jews like other men, and women have fallen short of righteousness. Therefore, God was not obligated to stand for the Jews as they went through suffering in the hands of a cruel Nazi regime during the Second World War. Certainly, the Jewish theologians have varied, but well accepted theodicies that attempt to explain God.
Related Religion essays
- World Religions
- Ritual Murder
- Discussion Post Religion and Politics
- The Role of the Higher Beings
- Being an Atheist
- Religion and Cultural differences
- The New Testament its Background and Message
- Political vs Religious Islam
- Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt