“Alasdair MacIntyre, a philosopher, has suggested that one of the worst things our society does to the young is to tell them they ought to be happy. MacIntyre thinks if you are happy, particularly when you are young, you are probably deeply self-deceived. Your appropriate stance is to be miserable. What a terrible time to be young. Shorn of any clear account for what it means to grow up, you are forced to make up your own lives. But you know that any life you make up is not a life you will want to live.” –Stanley Hauerwas
My brother-in-law is a quiet thinker, you might call him a theologian (but not to his face!). He is a cop by day (truthfully, he has the night shift but it sounded better to say by day) and a seminary student whenever he can fit in homework and classes. His MDiv is almost complete, just one last assignment: write your own statement of faith. Actually, the assignment is to present his motif, which means he is to present his organizing theme for a coherent and Christian view of God. Before I go on and without naming the specific seminary, I should probably make clear that our country’s most recognizeable reformed (with a capital R) pastors and theologians are deeply reverenced among the faculty there and overall the seminary is considered to be a hub of conservative training. All that to say, the motif my brother-in-law presented to his project chair did not go over so well. However, I loved it. So, I’m posting it here. Enjoy!
“The Cruelty Of God”
By Paul Tupy
The “cruelty of God” is in essence the pain and suffering that God causes to humans. The “cruelty of God” is seen throughout the pages of the Bible and throughout the history of humans. It is seen in a host of actions by God ranging from the ordering and condoning of genocide (Num 21:2-3; Duet 7:2; 7:16; 20:16-17; 33:27; Josh 6:21; 8:2; 8:26; 10:28; 10:30; 10:35; 10:37; 10:40; 11:9; 11:14; 11:20; Jug 1:17; I Sam 15:3; 15:9; and 15:18) to the torture of Job for the sake of a bet of sorts with Satan (Job 1-42). The notion of the “cruelty of God” is often brushed under the rug as a blasphemous or slanderous thing to say of God. God’s cruel actions and intentions towards humans are often explained away in lofty theological terms and diminish the full breath of who God is. However, just as taking away God’s power diminishes who He is, so too taking away His cruelty diminishes who He is.
The “cruelty of God” has been an over riding theme in my ministry and in the lives of those I have ministered to. Some of those I have ministered to have experienced God’s cruelty since birth, others for brief periods of time throughout their lives. Yet, the moments of God’s cruelty in peoples lives that I have worked with, has often times defined who God is to them. God’s cruelty has defined who God is to me and has been an over arching theme I see throughout scripture.
