Claudia is a woman in...
Illustration
Claudia is a woman in her mid-fifties who lost her job just as serious arthritic problems
afflicted her. She is now without health insurance. She is a faithful Christian who loves
the Lord very much. In his book, Contours of Old Testament Theology
(Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1999, pp. 278-280), Bernhard W. Anderson raises
the problem of God's justice or "theodicy." We have a God who demands undivided
loyalty and allegiance. When afflictions do occur, in our Old Testament lesson, Job's
friends essentially took the Deuteronomic code. This holds that suffering is a result of
covenantal disobedience. Anderson poses other questions in this regard. Is undeserved
suffering a divine crucible that refines faith? Is it just punishment from previous
generational sins? Is it mere discipline to make the person spiritually mature?
Many of the proposed solutions for "theodicy" in the Old Testament were provisional in nature. Christians confess that God meets us in the world's unfairness through the crucified and risen God, who points us to new life. In Claudia's case, she is invited to draw on the strength and resources of the community of faith in the crucified and risen God.
Many of the proposed solutions for "theodicy" in the Old Testament were provisional in nature. Christians confess that God meets us in the world's unfairness through the crucified and risen God, who points us to new life. In Claudia's case, she is invited to draw on the strength and resources of the community of faith in the crucified and risen God.
