No satisfaction

Rabbi Irving Greenberg is nothing if not straightforward. When I first read his article, I was surprised by his shift of focus from Mel Gibson's movie to the Gospels themselves. It felt like being at a dinner party where a respected guest not only declines a second helping of his host's treasured family recipe, but goes on to criticize the recipe as unhealthy and the family as unwise.

I'll leave the analogy there, but Christianity's understanding of the Suffering Servant is, as Donald Senior points out ("Blame the Gospels?" May 7), much more complex than "satisfaction theology." Greenberg writes that Christians should "reject the glorification of suffering" and "strive to take away the power of tyrants and nations to abuse the innocent." Yet it is precisely Jesus' suffering and death that have inspired so many to speak out against injustice, even if it means putting their lives in danger.

RALPH SCHEIDLER

Fort Fairfield, Maine

COPYRIGHT 2004 Commonweal Foundation
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning