God on Trial - a BBC tv play
I know u all must think I'm boring or something but bare with me for a couple of minutes, it's worth it !
Anyone who knows me should normally also know that I am a sucker for history and especially the history of WW2 in general and Nazi Germany in particular + Germany after WW1 and first couple of years after WW2. For me , as terrible and tragic as it is, historically speaking this is the most fascinating, interesting period . So, I watch everything I can get my hands on relating to this period and yesterday I saw a tv play made for BBC in 2008 that struck a chord with me, it has become one of my favorite productions ever and that I recommend to everyone with working neurons and especially to people who have a conflict with their faith, who have lost it or never had it (no,it's not going to try to convince u there's a God, far from it, that's why it's interesting).
I love studying people and their motivations, I like studying groups of people and especially people who are in special positions. My therapist says I am like a profiler and I should use this quality cause others pay loads of money to study and acquire it while I just naturally have it. It's the main reason why I am terribly interested in the Vatican as an institution ,the inner workings, the things that happen behind the scenes, relations between the people at the top ,the Pope, the Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops with important roles. I also have a great fascination with politics for the same reasons.
It's why I am fascinated by Nazi Germany and the people in Hitler's proximity. Contrary to what people might think ...these guys were regular people, some bad but some actually good ,some stupid and some talented and smart. Germany was always known for its good engineers and managers, it is where it is for a reason and these people existed in Nazi Germany as well .
Anyway, this post isn't about that ,it's about something I saw that I think makes some great points . Yesterday I saw this very interesting ,very moving tv play made by BBC in 2008. It's called God on Trial and it shows prisoners in Auschwitz, in one of the barracks, who decide to improvise a trial to see if God is guilty of what is happening to them, of breaking the covenant He made with the Jews. It's more of a philosophical ,psychological play, based on dialog and history and religion. I found it very good and very interesting,very thought provoking . Of course, the whole thing is based around the Jewish faith but as a Christian it can have the same impact because God is the same and we all know of those stories, there is not much difference and it makes very good points, gets really good towards the end.I recommend you watch it, I'll post the links from YouTube, it's worth giving it a try. You have all the characters there from the good faithful Jew who follows God blindly to the Atheist, the Christian, the upset faithful, the scholar, the scientist, the rabbi, everyone and they each make interesting points that should be meaningful to anyone who believes in one God , to Atheists as well. Also, it's a great piece for people interested in people and how they think, in moral issues ,right and wrong, shades of grey
Part 1 - starts with a little commercial and an introduction by Matthew Goode . Oh and it has Spanish subtitles
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
here is part of a scene that takes place towards the end, the whole piece that this transcript is part of is outstanding and can be very relevant to anyone
Rabbi : Today there was a selection, yes? When David defeated the Moabites, what did he do?
Judge: He made them lie on the ground in lines and he chose one to live and two to die.
Rabbi: We have become the Moabites. We are learning how it was for the Amalekites. They faced extinction at the hand of Adonai. They died for his purpose. They fell as we are falling. They were afraid as we are afraid. And what did they learn? They learned that Adonai, the Lord our God, our God, is not good. He is not good. He was not ever good. He was only on our side.
God is not good. At the beginning when he repented that he had made human beings and flooded the earth. Why? What had they done to deserve annihilation? What could they have done to deserve such wholesale slaughter? What could they have done that was so bad? God is not good.
When he asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Abraham should have said no. We should have taught our God the justice that was in our hearts. We should have stood up to him. He is not good. He has simply been strong. He has simply been on our side.
When we were brought here, we were brought by train. A guard slapped my face. On their belts they had written "Got mit uns" -- God is with us. Who is to say that he is not? Perhaps he is. Is there any other explanation? What we see here: his power, his majesty, his might, all these things that turned against us. He is still God, but not our God. He has become our enemy.
That is what's happened to our covenant. He has made a new covenant with someone else.