The Trial - A History of God
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
"Yet it is also true that even in Auschwitz some Jews continued to study the Talmud and observe the traditional festivals, not because they hoped that God would rescue them but because it made sense.
There is a story that one day in Auschwitz, a group of Jews put God on trial. They charged him with cruelty and betrayal. Like Job, they found no consolation in the usual answers to the problem of evil and suffering in the midst of this current obscenity. They could find no excuse for God, no extenuating circumstances, so they found him guilty and, presumably, worthy of death.
The Rabbi pronounced the verdict. Then he looked up and said that the trial was over: it was time for the evening prayer."
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Excerpt from "A History of God" By Karen Armstrong
3 March 2010 at 15:29
Perhaps most important characteristic of human life is hope, and God is its most basic and strong source. Even all the chaos and turmoil in Auschwitz failed to extinguish the hope of its inmates, they remained attached to the last source, GOD, in form of both resentment and praise.
4 March 2010 at 01:57
@Haris,
No doubt, hope is amongst the most critical elements which help human in surviving and flourishing in toughest of all conditions.
Also, i have to agree with 2nd part of your comment as well.
In his Audio book "Quest in Paradise", Sir David Attenborough have told an interesting story about the Native Americans working as slaves on 4 different islands with no communication channels b/w them, and yet versions of religious belief got developed among all 4 of those island groups that God's messiah will come and rescue them.