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Beyond Theodicy analyzes the rising tide of objections to explanations and justifications for why God permits evil and suffering in the world. In response to the Holocaust, striking parallels have emerged between major Jewish and Christian thinkers centering on practical faith approaches that offer meaning within suffering. Author Sarah K. Pinnock focuses on Jewish thinkers Martin Buber and Ernst Bloch and Christian thinkers Gabriel Marcel and Johann Baptist Metz to present two diverse rejections of theodicy, one existential, represented by Buber and Marcel, and one political, represented by Bloch and Metz. Pinnock interweaves the disciplines of philosophy of religion, post-Holocaust thought, and liberation theology to formulate a dynamic vision of religious hope and resistance.
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BEYOND THEODICY
SUNY series in Theology and Continental Thought —Douglas L. Donkel, editor
BEYOND THEODICY Jewish and Christian Continental Thinkers Respond to the Holocaust
SARAH KATHERINE PINNOCK
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 2002 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, address State University of New York Press, 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207 Production by Kelli Williams Marketing by Anne M. Valentine Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Pinnock, Sarah Katherine. Beyond theodicy: Jewish and Christian continental thinkers respond to the Holocaust/ by Sarah Katherine Pinnock. p. cm.—(SUNY series in theology and continental thought) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–7914–5523–8 (alk. paper)—ISBN 0–7914–5524–6 (pbk.: alk. paper) 1. Holocaust ( Jewish theology) 2. Holocaust (Christian theology) 3. Theodicy. 4. Political science—Philosophy. 5. Existentialism. I. Title. II. Series. BM645.H6 P56 2002 296.3’118—dc21 2002017611 10
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CONTENTS Abbreviations
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Preface
xi
1
TYPES OF APPROACHES TO HOLOCAUST SUFFERING Practical Responses as Alternatives to Theodicy
1
Theoretical Theodicy
2
Continental Alternatives to Theodicy
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Kant’s Practical Turn
12
From Theoretical Theodicy to Practical Faith
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Hegel’s Hubris: Theodicy Revived
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Hegel as Prototypical Target of Critique
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2 EXISTENTIAL ENCOUNTER WITH EVIL Gabriel Marcel’s Response to Suffering as a Trial
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Problem and Mystery in Philosophy
25
Marcel’s Objections to the Theodicy Problem
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Faith and Hope: The Discovery of Meaning in Suffering
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Relation to the Thou: Availability and Fidelity
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Suffering as a Trial
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Hope, Transcendence, and Immortality
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Acceptance of Suffering
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The Limitations of Marcel’s Approach after Auschwitz
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3 DIALOGICAL FAITH Martin Buber’s I-Thou Response to Suffering and Its Meaning
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The Dichotomy between I-It and I-Thou Attitudes
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God-Language within the Limits of I-Thou Relation
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CONTENTS
A Narrative Faith Response to Suffering
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Hasidic Narratives of