Suffering and God : a theological-ethical study of the war in the Sudan, 1955-

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:This dissertation is a theological-ethical study of suffering and God in relation to the war inSudan. It examines historical, political, socio-economic and religious factors behind one ofthe longest wars of Africa. Over the last forty years, Sudan, the largest country in Africa hasintermittently been at war with itself. This bitter conflict, pitting the predominantly Moslemnorth against Christian and animist south, has devastated communities, families as well asbasic socio-economic infrastructure and has turned this potentially rich land into one of themost impoverished and heavily indebted countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. From 1983 to thepresent, this war of attrition has claimed nearly two million lives and displaced double thatfigure of people from their homes, scattering them all over the globe. But in the midst of thishuman catastrophe, the church has grown enormously. It has one of the fastest growth rates inAfrica today. In its struggle with faith and the reality of suffering, the church in Sudanvariedly interprets its predicament if only to make sense of this sordid experience. In thatregard, it interprets suffering as divine judgement and as a direct result of a cosmic conflictbetween God and the forces of evil. At the same time, the church pleads with God for hisintervention and deliverance. Thus, the image of God as Judge-Deliverer largely dominatesthe theology and worship of the suffering church in the war-torn country. This seems to bethe major theme of more than 1 500 Bor Dinka new songs, composed in the war.To place the suffering of the church in Sudan in the larger context of Christian theology, thisdissertation briefly looks at the problem of evil and suffering in 'classical theology',examining the thought of Augustine, Luther and Calvin as well as the paradigm shift in theoptimism of the Enlightenment. Similarly, this dissertation takes a brieW look at 'alternativetheodicies' that followed the collapse of the fine edifice of the Age of Reason and thedereliction of the world wars and natural disasters. In this category is to be found the dialectictheology of Karl Barth and Ji.irgen Moltmann. The praxis of Liberation Theology is alsobriefly explored as a response to suffering. GC Berkouwer's 'believing theodicy' is examinedas a theological and Biblical critique of the whole project of theodicy as a wrongheadedenterprise vainly trying to justify the ways of God to man instead of the reverse. The Africantraditional view of suffering and evil is explored as a sharp contrast to the Western view.Looking at the Scripture, this work identifies five ways the Bible addresses the problem ofevil and suffering. In the Bible, suffering may come as a punishment for sin or as a disciplinary measure from God or as a test of faith or faithfulness or as a price of choosing tofollow Jesus or simply as innocent as in the case of Job.Admitting to the apparent mystery and insolubility of the problem of evil, this dissertation,finally, proposes the cross, community, character and hope as the only viable framework oftranscending and transforming suffering. It argues in that regard that the incarnation is thedistinctively Christian answer to the problem of evil and suffering in which that transcendingand transforming can be effected. Within the framework of the cross, community, characterand hope suffering can be transcended and transformed into the highest good possible in thislife. The cross reminds those who suffer that God has done and will do something aboutsuffering and that he does not abandon us in suffering. The community absorbs suffering andhelps the victim through the ordeal. Character is formed and toughened as the suffererchooses to respond appropriately to suffering. Hope tells us that suffering shall be ultimatelyovercome and a new order of things shall be ushered in, thus spurring us on to participate inthe present as we anticipate that bright future.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University