Big Ideas · 20 · Jonah
Taking blame as a source of hope
Babylon conquered Judah for strategic reasons. The prophets claimed it was because Judah broke its covenant. They created guilt where there was none, and found hope in it.
If we caused it, we can change it.
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Postwar Germans confronted their past through 'working through the past,' Vergangenheitsbewältigung. Judah's case differs: it was the victim, not the perpetrator. But blaming its own conduct meant a divine order lay beneath the chaos, and a better future was possible.
Bible reference: Isaiah 10:5–7
Source: Why the Bible Began, pp. 325–327
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