I've always struggled to relate to Job. Not that I doubt his innocence or the sincerity of his indignation. I just can't relate to his righteousness. He, like Jesus after him, could rightfully cry out to God: "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" But I can't. I never could.
You see, no matter how many awful things might happen to me, I deserve worse. I am the sinner, the straying sheep, the Judas, and Peter by the campfire all rolled into one. I'm the one who did the abandoning, not God.
Addicts wallow in self-pity and shame, a slough of despond that entraps and pulls them in deeper like quicksand. And so instead of crying out "Why is this happening to me?", all we can rightfully say is "My God, my God, why have I forsaken Thee?"
Friday, September 28, 2012
Friday, May 4, 2012
Germany 1932: A Not-So-Distant Mirror
In 1932 Lesslie Newbigin attended a conference in Germany that focused on developing more collaboration between English and German universities. But in his article "The German Outlook Today" (found here) Newbigin describes how the political situation in Germany overshadowed all other topics. As I read his analysis of how Germany was attracted to "National Socialism" (aka Nazism), I saw some unsettling parallels with Europe today.
1. Because of the crushing terms of the post-Armistice Treaty of Versailles, Germany faced a Sisyphean economic burden made impossible with the cessation of American investments after 1929. Furthermore, creditor nations (i.e. Great Britain and France) refused to cut them any slack in loan repayments; austerity measures forced Germany into economic paralysis.
2. Germany was humiliated by "democratic" and "globalizing" forces, thus creating nostalgia for monarchism combined with a xenophobic paranoia -- a poisonous atmosphere ideal for the creation of Hitler and his ilk.
It's not too difficult to see the parallels, is it? How many more Greeks will suicide before an Alexander rises up? What will happen if Spain collapses? I'm afraid that Germany will be on the receiving end of the next European autocrat.
1. Because of the crushing terms of the post-Armistice Treaty of Versailles, Germany faced a Sisyphean economic burden made impossible with the cessation of American investments after 1929. Furthermore, creditor nations (i.e. Great Britain and France) refused to cut them any slack in loan repayments; austerity measures forced Germany into economic paralysis.
2. Germany was humiliated by "democratic" and "globalizing" forces, thus creating nostalgia for monarchism combined with a xenophobic paranoia -- a poisonous atmosphere ideal for the creation of Hitler and his ilk.
It's not too difficult to see the parallels, is it? How many more Greeks will suicide before an Alexander rises up? What will happen if Spain collapses? I'm afraid that Germany will be on the receiving end of the next European autocrat.
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