Sunday, July 19, 2015

Suffering faith


Os Guinness: I was born in China during World War II, grew up in the midst of a terrible famine and plague in which millions—including my two brothers—died, and lived to witness the reign of terror that climaxed the revolution of Mao Zedong. Since then I’ve lived on three continents and in a score of cities. Movement and uprootedness have been a staple of my life. 
DD: Yes. That brings me to my next question regarding your examination of Eleonore Stump’s essay “The Mirror of Evil” and Phillip Hallie’s study of the tiny French village that rescued thousands of Jewish children during World War II. 3 I’m struck by your observation that “Evil hardens the heart to the point of tearlessness and it takes goodness to crack the heart open.” Would you comment on this and particularly the role of goodness—as a positive apologetic—in drawing us to God?
OG: Yes, I think it is particularly important because you know the argument: “After Auschwitz there can be no God.” But as Viktor Frankel points out, the person who wrote that declaration had never been to Auschwitz. In fact, more people deepened or discovered faith while in Auschwitz than lost it. 

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