Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times

by Soong-Chan Rah

The people of God made significant assumptions about their privileged position. They assumed a level of protection that arose from their sense of exceptionalism and privilege. Lamentations reminds us that privilege needs to be acknowledged but cannot be assumed. Lamentations reveals the tendency of a sinful people to have an elevated view of themselves. Prior to the city’s destruction, the residents of Jerusalem viewed themselves as an exceptional and privileged people. In American Christianity, the same tendency toward privilege also exists. There is an underlying belief that American Christians have been the standard-bearers of Christianity for several centuries. There is a sense of being the exceptional church, resulting in the missionary endeavor and vision. This favored church status has led to a belief in a favored nation status. But this sense of American exceptionalism and even the sense of exceptionalism for the American church cannot be justified through Scripture.