Christian responses to the Holocaust are quite varied., as this book demonstrates Some, like feminist theologian Dorthee Solle, argue that the traditional conception of a benevolent God needs to be altered. Catholic theologian John Pawlikowski argues that the notions of how humans should relate to God must be reconsidered. Then there is Ulrich Simon, a professor of Christian history, who argues that the murder of millions of Jews should be perceived as a sacrificial offering to God (which raises the question of what sort of God would accept such an offering from the Nazis).
Even more interesting is the perspective of Graham Keith, a Christian who argues that the near destruction of the Jewish people in the Holocaust should be seen as a reason to hasten their conversion (and thus ensure that Judaism disappears entirely). According to Keith, the Jews are “enemies of God” because of their lack of faith in Jesus, and antisemitism is really caused by Satan.
There is certainly an amazing variety of responses and attitudes contained in this one volume. Every editor of an anthology must battle to find some balance between depth and breadth. Here, Cohn-Sherbok has aimed high for as much breadth as possible, but in doing so has sacrificed quite a bit of depth.
That isn’t necessarily a bad thing — there are many advantages in what he has done. By collecting short passages from so many different people, readers are able to gain a strong sense for the different ways in which the Holocaust has affected theology. It is also relatively easy for one to jump into the book at any point and start reading. That makes this a perfect book not only for those interested in getting an overview of the topic, but for any number of introductory college courses in subjects like religious studies and history.
However, the sacrifice of depth is noticeable; at times you may find yourself wanting something more after finishing short passages from particular authors. Fortunately, that “something more” can be found in other works, and so long as you know what you are getting into, it is not a reason to pass this book over.
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