One of the most common criticisms of faith I have heard is this: If there is an all-powerful and loving God somewhere out there, why does this God allow horrible things to happen? In a world where there has always been war, sexual violence, starvation, and murder, where is this omnipotent God? Why does he allow these things to happen? Where is she when people suffer injustice?
The Bible gives us plenty of examples of the abuses of the faithful, sometimes even at God's own hand (like in the book of Job). We read of the systemic oppression of the Jewish people and the early Christian church. Through this, God's people were always able to remain steadfast in their faith. Forming a defense of faith in God in the face of realized evil is known as theodicy.
So: In a nation where black people have been enslaved, lynched, and raped because of their race, and in time where people must declare that “black lives matter,” how do black Americans form their own theodicy to justify this violence, abuse, and systemic oppression?
And is it necessary to do so?
Many black Americans have historically taken their troubles to God through the church, using the laments of the people of Israel and the suffering of Jesus on the cross to exemplify their own trials. But the Black Lives Matter movement is driven by young people — including women, feminists, LGBTQ people, atheists, and others who may not immediately identify with the "We Shall Overcome" mentality of the Black church of generations past.
In fact, there has been friction between Black Lives Matter activists and the Black church. Some are questioning if there is a need for the church to support the movement at all.
I believe that the movement could exist as purely secular. But as a Christian, I believe the ministry of Jesus on earth provides ample support for the ideals of the Black Lives Matter movement. Jesus showed compassion and advocacy for the people most marginalized by his society. Jesus was a man of action, turning over tables in the temple when loan sharks exploited the poor and calling out the religious elite who did not practice what they preached.
In Jesus' gospel, there is no need for theodicy. We are charged to go out as people and make change.
We will never know why bad things happen and why injustice is allowed to take root and grow. We will never know why, or whether, God allows these things to happen.
But I do know that the only concrete examples of God living out human behavior come through the words and deeds of Jesus of Nazareth, the itinerant preacher with a message of activism in the face of systemic injustice.
With that knowledge at our disposal, and our power to act, I don't know if we need a theodicy at all.
Courtney Hall Lee is a writer, attorney, and co-host of the "Dovetail" podcast. You can find her on Twitter @CourtRhapsody.
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