The Problem of Evil and Suffering

The above is the title of today's sermon in response to the catastrophes that had happened in Myanmar and China recently. Pastor admitted that he cannot deal with it exhaustively in an hour sermon especially in relation to the theological and philosophical aspects of theodicy. However, what is more important is to elucidate the pastoral aspect of this problem. You can listen to the sermon here. Basically, how can we as a community respond to suffering faced by those within and outside the Christian community. We may never be able to provide an answer and any answer will not be adequate for those who suffered. What we have is hope. What we can give is hope. Hope in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (...that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures ...1 Cor 15:3,4).

The problem of evil and suffering raises the question of God's love and omnipotence. If there is a God, he is either not a loving God or not a powerful God. Otherwise, how can he allow such natural disasters to happen and bring about so much human suffering.

I've not read all those arguments on theodicy. All I know is I believe in a God who has chosen to suffer, to be humiliated and to be condemned to the most cruel death by those whom he created and by those who have been questioning his love or omnipotence. Even though, 'for by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together' (Col 1:16-17), yet he willingly took upon the cup of suffering. At the cross, the One who hold all things together cried out 'My God, my God. Why has Thou forsaken me?'.

At the cross, our right to question God on evil and suffering no longer exist. Our right to question God on evil and suffering is extinguished 'when Christ the Mighty Maker died, For man the creature's sin'. (Issac Watts)

The response then in face of evil and suffering whether on a national or personal level, is for the redeemed community to walk alongside those who are suffering, offering practical assistance and the hope of the Gospel.

Edward Shillito wrote a poem called 'Jesus of the Scars' after witnessing the carnage of World War I.

Jesus of the Scars

If we have never sought, we seek Thee now;
Thine eyes burn through the dark, our only stars;
We must have sight of thorn-pricks on Thy brow;
We must have Thee, O Jesus of the Scars.

The heavens frighten us; they are too calm;
In all the universe we have no place.
Our wounds are hurting us; where is the balm?
Lord Jesus, by Thy Scars we claim Thy grace.

If when the doors are shut, Thou drawest near,
Only reveal those hands, that side of Thine;
We know today what wounds are; have no fear;
Show us Thy Scars; we know the countersign.

The other gods were strong, but Thou wast weak;
They rode, but Thou didst stumble to a throne;
But to our wounds only God’s wounds can speak,
And not a god has wounds, but Thou alone.

May the wounds of the One who hold all things together speak to our own woundedness.

13th May & Turning 40

I turned 40 today. There is a Chinese saying that man starts to blossom at 40. I will not go on to say what happens to a woman at 40 as it's pretty degrading. For me, assuming I can live up to 80, I'm starting to think of what I'm going to do for the 2nd half of my life. Mid-life crisis? Maybe.

Had a quiet family celebration. I guess it must have been pretty quiet celebration also on my 1st birthday. Despite the situation at that time, I think there was still a celebration. Come to think of it, I never asked my parents or my older sisters about what happened that day. Did I had a birthday party? I was only told of my mum risking her life cycling more than 2km from home to buy me milk powder despite the curfew. Nothing beats mother's love.

Has the ghost of 13th May being exorcised from our collective memory by the political tsunami on 8th March after 39 years? I hope so. At the same time we need to work towards a Malaysia which is free from race based politics. A Malaysia where all, irrespective of race, religion and economic status, will be free from want and fear. Where the freedom of expression and belief are upheld and protected. This is my 40th Birthday wish.

We are far from being free (Updated)

I just came back from Dataran (There is no longer a place called Dataran Merdeka in Malaysia)There was supposed to be a candlelight vigil in solidarity with Raja Petra. I reached there at about 15 minutes before 8pm. The place was already cordoned off by the police. There was no sign of anybody gathering there. At 8pm, my colleague & I decided to go to the other end of the Dataran via the back way. There were fewer police there and it was not cordoned off like the other end near the flagpole. Still no sign of people gathering. A few minutes later before a group of people went passed the police and started walking into the Dataran. They were not stopped and we decided to follow them.

It was a unique/eerie experience to walk from one end of the Dataran to the other with no traffic at all but with probably dozens of police watching you. We reached the other end and found a group of people have already gathered there. But it was a small group. Not more than 40.

After a while an Indian police officer said that there was going to be a demonstration and asked us to disperse. A lady in our group asked him what demo he was talking about. He evaded the question and continuing to ask us to disperse saying that he has a job to do. Someone in the group said that they came to take photos of the Dataran. The police officer then told us that we can take whatever photos we want but we have to disperse within 15 minutes.

Despite some grumblings, the crowd was just to small to mount a dissent and some began to walked away including myself. No point getting arrested. The small crowd could be due to the fact that Raja Petra has agreed to post bail and will be freed tomorrow.

Tonight, freedom remains an illusion to me at Freedom Square. How can we be free when we are not allowed to gather to just light candles. Well, I guess the darkness hates light. The political tsunami on March 8 has not totally dispelled the darkness. We must be wary of the 'Empire striking back' as Kit Siang puts it.

Update: Just read Malik Imtiaz's post on The Methodology of Fear. It confirmed my thoughts of freedom being an illusion in our country. Yes, I was fearful as I walked across the Dataran. Why should I be? Because I'm not free. I'm not free from all the oppressive laws that continue to hung over my head like the Sword of Damocles.

We can never be free until and unless all the oppressive laws are abolished. We can never be free until and unless the Govt fears the people.

What happened on 8 March was merely the Battle of Midway where the tide began to turn. We must press on until the A-Bomb is dropped on this morally bankrupt BN Government. Bloody battles remain ahead. Remember before Hiroshima & Nagasaki, there were Saipan, Peleliu, Iwo Jima & Okinawa, where some of the bloodiest battles were fought. We can also treat 8 March as the Normandy landings. There were many battles ahead before the Allies pushed into Germany and defeated Hitler. Before that we need to remember the fiasco of Operation Market Garden and the near debacle of the Battle of the Bulge.

Maybe I've announced VR (Victory for Rakyat) Day too early on 8 March. But I believe the light will eventually triumphed over darkness.