[Glenn Wright]

Hi, Julie and Roger—

Originally Posted by Julie Steiner

By allowing the situation to get so bad before taking action, isn't the Jesus portrayed in the poem every bit as guilty of "paying no heed to the agonized moans of the Holy Ghost." as the people he accuses?

The historical Jesus had an excuse for not knowing what was going on before witnessing the scene at the Temple. What is this the modern, risen Christ's excuse for letting things get so bad on such a scale before taking action?

This is the same problem that many people have with the stories of Noah and Lot, the Lamentations of Jeremiah, etc. Why does an omniscient, omnipotent, all-loving God let things get so bad before finally deciding enough is enough and doing something violent?

Yes, Julie, Jesus would be every bit as guilty as the people he accuses if he were judged by human standards. The silence of God during the Holocaust, or the simple fact that He permits the suffering of the innocent, including His Son, the N of this poem, is mysterious. I might suppose either that He is waiting, giving humans every chance to repent and turn to Him, or that He has decided that living in the broken world is punishment for our inaction, like a parent who allows his child to live in the squalor of unlaundered clothes and a messy room as a way of teaching the natural consequences of not taking care of his clothes and belongings. But these are human comparisons. Ultimately God’s silence may be unfathomable. It seems clear to me that He is not going to magically fix it for us.

Thanks for weighing in again, Roger.

Glenn