A Dramatic Pentecostal/Charismatic Anti-Theodicy

Improvising on a Divine Performance of Lament

Torr

• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781630870782
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

The response of Pentecostal and Charismatic churches to those suffering in their midst has generally been to seek the intervention of the Holy Spirit to bring about healing and transformation, or perhaps, education. But what happens when the suffering continues, it appears to be innocent and meaningless, and God seems to be absent? This study, drawing on Kevin Vanhoozer's dramatic approach to theology, argues that the way God calls us to perform as we seek to communicate with him amidst such situations is to lament, and to do so with the aid of the Holy Spirit. Rather than offering such an approach purely in opposition to the more triumphalistic responses common in Pentecostal/Charismatic theology and practice, this book seeks to show how a performance of lament is conducive to such theology and practice while acting as a much-needed corrective to certain aspects of it. What is provided here is therefore relevant reading for both scholars and pastors alike, particularly of Pentecostal/Charismatic church tradition, who grapple with the realities of suffering and the questions such realities produce.

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Improvising on a Divine Performance of Lament

Introduction

We can recall that the question at the heart of this study is: What does it mean to produce a fitting Pentecostal/Charismatic performance in the face of seemingly innocent, meaningless suffering when God appears to be absent? We can also recall that in the pursuit of finding an answer to this question we began by examining Christian responses to evil and suffering in general (chapter 2), followed by examining Pentecostal/Charismatic responses to evil and suffering (chapter 3). In the light of these two examinations it was highlighted that the Biblically rooted, systematic guidance for the production of a fitting performance that would constitute a suitable answer to the question would require a high view of Scripture in the construction of that answer. With this in mind, a suitable hermeneutical method was developed (chapter 4) that could provide the necessary tools for the construction of such an answer.

In the previous chapter, a four step approach was outlined as the way in which the climax of this study would be reached and the central research question answered, and steps one and two were completed. We thus find ourselves at this point with a clear understanding of where we are in the drama as well as a growing understanding of how God sees and responds to evil and suffering. In conjunction with this latter point, we are also aware that humans are invited to be part of the divine response and further, we have examined what a fitting performance looks like in Act 2 when the actors experience times of seemingly innocent, meaningless suffering and the divine covenantal partner appears to be absent.

The challenge in this chapter is to examine the performance of Jesus in the face of evil and suffering in order to provide guidance for a fitting Pentecostal/Charismatic performance in the current act. By examining the performance of Jesus we will firstly, be able to Christologically qualify the response to evil and suffering taken by the divine playwright in Act 2. Included within this, since Jesus is the divine-human actor, we will therefore also be able to Christologically qualify the role set for humans within the divine playwright’s response to evil and suffering. The pinnacle of this examination will be in Jesus’ response through his Passion, particularly in the Garden of Gethsemane and during his crucifixion. This examination of Jesus’ performance will enable the completion of step three of the four step journey, as it will provide the Christocentric lens through which we can complete our examination of the divine response to evil and suffering.

In the light of this examination, we will also be able to complete step four. This is so because we may recall from chapter 4 that in seeking to produce guidance for a fitting performance in the current act, we are to improvise on the performance of Jesus in similar situations with the aim of non-identical repetition. Having provided a context for the performance of Jesus in chapter 5, we are, in this chapter, able to see how he improvises on the performance of Israel. This in turn will enable the provision of guidance regarding a fitting performance and use of the Script in the current act. A twist in the plot comes in the form of the role of the Spirit in our performances, but more will be said about this below.

We begin then by examining Jesus’ view of and response to evil and suffering.

Jesus and Evil: A Divine, Command Performance

At the end of Act 2, rather than making progress, the cycle of evil being confronted, judged and stopped, followed by its re-emergence (as noted in chapter 5), was becoming repetitive to the point of stagnation, with no sign of a plot resolution that could break the repetition. Such a situation was due to the fact that evil and corruption was both within and outside of those cast to aid expel it from the cosmic stage. However, the divine playwright could not allow this cycle to continue ad infinitum and so there was only one option left to move the drama on. Enter Jesus.

As the curtain rises on Act 3, the entrance of Jesus onto the stage as the divine playwright incarnate offers a number of fresh possibilities. The first of these relates to the divine perspective of evil and suffering as, in Jesus’ words and actions, we are allowed to see once more, in the most tangible way, what this perspective is. The second is a front row seat to view what a performance in which evil is defeated looks like. The third is access to the prime example of a performance on which we can improvise as we seek to establish what a fitting performance looks like, in the current act, in response to the type of suffering in question. We will examine each of these in turn.

Evil and Suffering Through a Christocentric Lens

The temptation texts in particular offer us a fresh view of the divine perspective on the personal nature of evil (Matt 4:1–11//Mark 1:12–13//Luke 4:1–13). Like Adam and Eve, and then Israel, Jesus experiences the pressure exerted by the presence of evil to think and act in a corrupt manner. He is tempted to give a performance that deviates from the part for which he has been cast. However, unlike Adam, Eve, and Israel, he does not give in to the temptation but wards it off as, in order for Jesus to give a performance of perfection, he must be without sin.624 A problem with the drama since the moment Adam and Eve gave in to deceit was that no part of the cast from then on would be free from sin. This made it impossible for them to overcome evil and bring the Kingdom of God to bear on the cosmic stage, meaning a completely fitting performance was always out of reach. Jesus is thus improvising firstly, on the part of Adam, and secondly, on the part of Israel, as he carries on his through-line that will move the drama towards eschatological consummation. This scene within Act 3 of the drama emphasizes the importance of remaining free from personal evil in order to carry out a fitting performance of imago dei. It also, in connection with the third level of evil, supports the divine understanding of Satan as the ultimate liar and deceiver whose aim it appears to be to tend the drama towards destruction.

We are, through Jesus’ performance, given, secondly, a better perspective on the issue of systemic evil. As soon as personal evil infiltrated the cast, corporate and systemic evil, and the infection of the whole of the cosmic stage, followed close behind. Free from personal sin however, Jesus begins opposing evil at the systemic level, thus confirming its presence and the reading of the Script advocated thus far in this study. The exiled Israel had been told by the prophets of a Messiah that would defeat her enemies and restore her to her land where God would reign forever. Wright points out that the “Kingdom of God” “was simply a Jewish way of talking about Israel’s god becoming king.”625 He further states that the key to understanding the return from exile and the reign of the Kingdom of God from Israel’s perspective, was “the Jewish expectation of the saving sovereignty of the covenant god, exercised in the vindication of Israel and the overthrow of her enemies.”626 “The time when the blind would see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, and the poor hear good news was the time when Israel would return at last from Babylon.”627 Again, improvising on much of what the prophets had spoken of in the previous act, with his healings and exorcisms, his love and compassion towards outcasts, Jesus begins to implement this return from exile on Israel’s behalf. His confirmation of the presence of systemic evil and suffering in creation is achieved by way of his opposition to it. This involved healing those who suffered from evil in biological and ecological systems, challenging corrupt political and religious systems, and breaking down the corruption in sociological systems. All of this had been the task of Israel, who had become so defaced by the evil within that she could not overthrow that, or the evil outside.

The third aspect of evil that Jesus confronts, we have already touched on in his confrontation of the first. Throughout Jesus’ ministry he refers to the figure of Satan, which continues to stand behind all other evil and authors lies in order to create opportunities for this evil to continue.

From this brief examination of the divine actor’s perspective we can affirm that God, both in his Script and in human form, sees evil, and thus the resulting suffering, with the three tier perspective outlined in chapter 5. What also becomes apparent is that if the drama is to reach its intended conclusion, evil—at ...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• Chapter : Introduction
• Chapter 2: An Overview of Christian Approaches to Evil and Suffering
• Chapter 3: Pentecostal/Charismatic Approaches to Evil and Suffering
• Chapter 4: A “Dramatic” Pentecostal/Charismatic Hermeneutic
• Chapter 5: Humans, Evil, and Suffering—A Theo-Dramatic Perspective
• Chapter 6: Improvising on a Divine Performance of Lament
• Chapter 7: Conclusion
• Bibliography