God Thinks Otherwise: Jesus Demonstrates that God is not Against the War Victims in Sri Lanka

God Thinks Otherwise: Jesus Demonstrates that God is not Against the War Victims in Sri Lanka

By Shanthakumar, Sureshkumar (2020) - Abstract During Sri Lanka’s long civil war, religion was an important part of the collective identity and social narrative of many participants. Though the war was not strictly a religious conflict, understanding the identity rupture between the Tamil (Hindu/Christian) and the Sinhalese (Buddhist/Christian) is central to understanding the chasm between the identity of the Tamil and that of the Sinhalese. The close link between religion and ethnic identity made religious targets particularly appealing for symbolic violence, not only against faith per se, but also against symbols representing the opposing side: worshippers, clerics, and houses of worship.a A classic question in theology asks this: how can a loving, yet Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent God permit evil and suffering in the world? An argument in response goes as follows: A God that allows suffering to continue is either a) not all-powerful (not omnipotent) and is thus unable to prevent the suffering; b) not loving because this God has the power to prevent suffering but is unwilling to do so; and/or c) not all-knowing (not Omniscient) because God is aware of the suffering only after it has already occurred and then it is too late to prevent it. This problem of evil and God and God’s inability or unwillingness to do anything about it raises the question of God’s justice or righteousness, which is known in theology as theodicy.b Religious organizations must be able to answer people’s questions about faith amid tragic moments. Religious leaders are expected to mediate between victims of war and God who is in control over everything.

Shanthakumar, Sureshkumar

Virginia Theological Seminary

2020

@ Copyright 2020 The Rev. Sureshkumar Shanthakumar

PDF