David R Blumenthal 1st edit/1 print Facing the Abusing God A Theology of Protest 1993 [Paperback] Blumenthal, David R [Paperback] Blumenthal, David R

by David R. Blumenthal

This rare and vintage book is a perfect addition to any bibliophile's collection

Genres: Religion, Philosophy, Theology, History, Holocaust, Nonfiction, Judaica

Paperback

First published November 15, 1993

About the author

David R. Blumenthal, Jay and Leslie Cohen Professor of Judaic Studies. Professor Blumenthal took his B.A. at the University of Pennsylvania and his Ph.D. at Columbia University. He teaches and writes on constructive Jewish theology, medieval Judaism, Jewish mysticism, and holocaust studies. His previous published works include numerous scholarly articles, reviews, and eleven books including the two volume Understanding Jewish Mysticism (1978, 1982), God at the Center, (Harper and Row, 1988; reprinted Jason Aronson, 1994; translated as Dieu au coeur, 2002), Facing the Abusing God: A Theology of Protest (Westminster / John Knox, 1993), and The Banality of Good and Evil: Moral Lessons from the Shoah and Jewish Tradition (Georgetown University Press: 1999). His most recent book is Philosophic Mysticism: Essays in Rational Religion, 2007. He is a member of the European Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Religion.

Reviews

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will haunt and disturb you. In a good way. It may cause you to struggle with your personal theology. And it is worth it. I had to compare this with Fackenheim and his 11th commandment for college. I still remember it as a difficult time in my relationship with God. And I came out better for it.

[Shawn Enright · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehh, I was hopeful. I wanted to have Blumenthal as an interlocutor for my thesis, but we have too many fundamental differences (theistic personalism, different approaches to the centrality of Christ, ways of approaching the scriptures, and so on). Also, this isn't a critique but the book is very...odd? I admire Blumenthal's project, because he wants the form of his book to mimic its content (the fragmentation and non-linear nature of trauma and abuse) but man is it hard to follow his argument, if there even is one.

It became obvious that I would need to do a much deeper dive into Judaism and the midrasnhic / Rabbinic tradition to truly grasp what he is up to.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creative Methodology

[Mark Gammon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic challenge to superficial theodicies. A book by a Jewish scholar that every Christian should have to read before presuming to preach or teach.

[Spencer Szwalbenest · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, the author expresses ideas on how we ought to encounter God in the wake of the Holocaust. According to Blumenthal, if we take the traditional position of Jewish theology, which recognizes God as a major actor in most of the significant events of Jewish history, we ought to view God as an abuser. Blumenthal cites the perspectives of survivors of child abuse, some of whom he corresponds with directly, in order to provide parallels for how we might approach an abusing God.

The book comprises of four sections. In the first, "Beginning Somewhere", Blumenthal sets out some basic frameworks of Jewish theology. This section does not provide all that much new for someone with experience reading Jewish thought, except for his idea of 'tacking', an idea taken from sailing in which one sails in a zig-zag in response to the wind, rather than sailing directly in to it. So the same, Blumenthal argues, we ought to 'tack' in our theological approach, responding to various pushes and pulls of life.

The second section, "Text-ing" was the highlight of the book for me. In it, Blumenthal translates and does commentary on four psalms (128, 44, 109, 27) that discuss themes of Divine reward, protection, anger, and hope in various ways. Blumenthal writes four different running commentaries: Words- which philologically discusses key words in his translation-, Sparks- which cites various Hasidic insights that will inform our reading of the text- Affections- which expresses the religious and emotional attitudes that the text means to convey, and Con-verses- which uses postmodern thought, psychoanalysis, Holocaust experiences, and perspectives of abuse survivors to write counter to the psalms and raise theological objections. This section is genius in its expression of contradictions, and provides a realistic insight into all of the ways that a learned person could study a text simultaneously. Somehow, Blumenthal's perspective of an abusing God makes much more sense here than it will in the back half of the book, perhaps because this view fits in much better in the messy experience of a real person than it does in a theological argument.

In the third section, "Re-sponse", Blumenthal shares two dialogues, one between him and an abuse survivor, and one between him and a systematic theologian. Each pokes various holes in his depictions of abuse and his view of an abusive God, and he answers these challenges with varying levels of success.

Last, in "Con-templation", the author presents a more systemic view of his theology, which aims to preserve our religious relationship with God and to recognize God as an abuser. This section closes with some selections from Jewish liturgy that Blumenthal feels are best to address such a God. Blumenthal ultimately approves of facing this God with an attitude of protest, at least until God makes some answer to our complaints.

I agree with the challengers in Blumenthal's book, that this theological argument ultimately does not work. While viewing God as abusive could be a strong argument against religious life (and thus a successful anti-theology), I do not believe that viewing God as abusive leaves us much room to get what we need from religion, be that moral guidance, overarching meaning, a feeling of protection from above, etc. Blumenthal, in a way that seems a bit dated, fails to explain why the Holocaust (as opposed to all other manner of natural and historical tragedies that have happened to Jewish people) necessitates such a stance towards God. Moreover, he does not adequately explain why we cannot simply reject the Jewish view of God as historical architect, which requires an adjustment to one's religious understanding but can allow us to preserve faith in a God who at the very least is good to us and desires our wellbeing.

The reason why I score this book as highly as I do is because of its novel formatting. I loved how Blumenthal uses theology, dialogue, and textual commentary to create this mosaic of a book. I think that more theology should take this approach, and that the plurivocality of it enriched its perspectives greatly.

[Chloe J W · Rating 5 out of 5]

So moving and reassuring to have and reflect upon in 2024. It actually rekindled my Christian faith in a way someone might find strange. Highly recommend.