REL 275 - God and the Holocaust

FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Planned Offering: Winter

Through drama, poetry, theology, memoir, book-inspired films, and short fiction composed by Holocaust victims and later writers, this discussion-centered course explores how Jews have addressed the question, “Where was God during the Holocaust?” Their answers range from acquiescent faith to angry rejection, and to paradoxical wrestling with an absent God. We begin with Elie Wiesel’s play, The Trial of God, and then go back in time to examine how the biblical books of Job and Lamentations addressed the problem of underserved suffering, as well as traditional Jewish writings about national catastrophes and the Messiah. We compare these ancient ideas with our main topic of study: the ideas and experiences of modern Jews confronting the theological problem of the Holocaust. Marks.