A Not So Happy Hanukkah

I was out for a few days with a bug, but am back and have picked up a newer book edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor entitled, “Suffering and the Sovereignty of God”

I have particularly enjoyed the article by Mark R. Talbot and the quotes from Elie Wiesel’s book Night. This book is a first hand account of the Nazi death camps and the impact that had on Wiesel’s faith. Read a few quotes:

As the train stopped,…we saw flames rising from a tall chimney into a black sky…We stared at the flames in the darkness. A wretched stench floated in the air….We jumped out…In front of us, those flames. In the air, smell of burning flesh.

Not far from us, flames, huge flames were rising from a ditch. Something was being burned there. A truck drew close and unloaded it’s hold; small children. Babies! Yes, I did see this, with my own eyes…How is it possible that men, women, and children were being burned and that the world kept silent?

In days gone by, Rosh Hashannah had dominated my life. I knew that my sins grieved the Almighty and so I pleaded for forgiveness…But now, I no longer pleaded for anything. I was no longer able to lament. On the contrary, I felt very strong. I was the accuser, God the accused. My eyes had opened and I was alone, terribly alone in a world without God, without man. Without love or mercy.

Now obviously I do not agree with the conclusions. I do have to say I cannot imagine what he went through to come to this place. What a terrible picture, what a terrible darkness and night. We discussed Wednesday night about the way the world wants to apply pressure upon “Christians” to see if they bleed the same as the face they put forward. In other words, are we truly Christ’s disciples? How would we respond to such pressure as Wiesel faced? Do we bleed Christ?