Jeremiah's Complaint 23/09/2005 O Lord, you deceived me, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me.Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long.But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.I hear many whispering, "Terror on every side! Report him! Let's report him!" All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, "Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him."Jeremiah 20:7-10 (NIV)If I have a favorite passage from the Bible, this is it; what is often called Jeremiah's Complaint. It may seem an odd choice but it illustrates very clearly two things that Christians need desperately to know today.The first is the human aspect. Jeremiah was one of the greatest prophets that Israel has ever known. Even today he has a reputation for an unfailingly pessimistic message for it seemed that he was always warning of the doom and justice to come. And, of course, he was right.We might have expected that a man with such a uniformly grim message might be himself somewhat grim and forbidding, but this passage opens a door into the soul of the real Jeremiah, shows us just how hard it was for him to be the Lord's messenger. He has reached a point where he can bear it no longer and, in anger and despair, he turns and shouts his protest at God.That looks pretty human to me. And this is the first reason I love this passage. Can you think of any other prophet in the Old Testament who has so openly bared his deepest thoughts for our inspection? There is none; Jeremiah is the only one who, for a moment, turns from his task and says, "I don't care what it does to my reputation. I'm hurting and I'm not afraid to say so!"And he goes straight to the source of his woes and points a finger and yells his pain. To paraphrase his complaint, he is saying, "This is all your fault, God. Because you always give me terrible messages to deliver, everyone hates me. Give me something nice to say for a change, for crying out loud!"Now those are fairly strong words to yell at your God. It is only anger that forces them from Jeremiah and speaking them out soon eases some of the pain so that he remembers just who he is accusing. For a brief moment he struggles to resume his composure:But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fall and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten.O Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.Jeremiah 20:11-12 (NIV)It's the party line; Jeremiah knows full well the answer to his complaint - that the Lord will bring justice in the end. But note that the prophet's anger has not dissipated yet: he wants to see that moment when his enemies are brought to justice; just the promise is not enough right now.Perhaps it is this thought that enabled Jeremiah to burst out briefly in praise of his God:Sing to the Lord! Give praise to the Lord! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked.Jeremiah 20:13 (NIV)Jeremiah has answered his own complaint. He knows the prescription for his ailment, understands that God will uphold him through all his troubles. To anyone who has been in a Pentecostal, Charismatic or Evangelical church, it sounds very familiar. And yet...And yet there are times when it's just not possible. Fine words, nothing wrong with the theory, but we are human and sometimes trouble is too intense for us to swallow the medicine. And my friend, Jeremiah, does not fail us at this point; his agony boils to the surface and, no longer able to shout at God, he turns on himself instead:Cursed be the day that I was born! May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, who made him very glad, saying, "A child is born to you - a son!"May that man be like the towns the Lord overthrew without pity. May he hear wailing in the morning, a battle cry at noon.For he did not kill me in the womb, with my mother as my grave, her womb enlarged forever.Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?Jeremiah 20:14-18 (NIV)In this outburst, we see the extent and depth of Jeremiah's feelings. He holds nothing back; it is a cry of pain, anger and despair. And here it sits, in the middle of a book of huge, nation-shattering prophecies, a moment in time when the great prophet turns from his God-given task and screams at life. In doing so, he speaks to each one of us who has experienced similar feelings of anguish in the depths of our troubles.And the message we can take from this complaint? That it's okay to be human; that we don't have to pretend to be some sort of superhero who never feels pain, who never stumbles and always keeps his eye on the ball. To me, that's a powerful message; one that far too many Christians seem completely unaware of.But I have not mentioned the second great message in the passage. Do you see God peeking through the words? Do you see how He sits quietly and hears Jeremiah's complaint and says nothing? Where is the answering anger from the deity in being accused in this way, where the clip round the ear for his errant servant, where the bolt of lightning to show the prophet who is in charge?The answer is, of course, that there is none of these responses. This is not some God like that of Islam who requires the slightest insult to his honor to be avenged in blood; this is not some smiling Buddhist statue that rests unaffected in its metallic imperviousness. This is the God who became human and shares our pain, who knows and understands and does not demand that we be robots forever rigid in our obedience to His every whim. He allows Jeremiah his protest and lets him come to terms with the magnitude of his task in his own way. Such is the God that Jeremiah knew; lord and master, yes, but also friend and confidant.So this is why I love this passage, this jewel inserted so unexpectedly in the midst of the monumental Old Testament. Here we are spoken to most immediately and directly, our weakness addressed simply and with compassion, and a glimpse of God's mercy and love shines through to give us hope. I, for one, am glad of this moment when old Jerry the prophet lost his temper, spat out the pacifier and yelled his anguish for all the world to see. Angry at God? Hey, you wouldn't be the first...
Clive
Ken In general and as an atheist, Gone Away, I neither agree nor disagree with what you say in this post, since all religious discourse seems to me to be simply meaningless. I do think, however, that the second sentence of your penultimate paragraph is less than temperate, for two reasons: firstly, that the history of Christianity itself is so blood-stained that comparisons with any other religion must surely be invidious; secondly, that Buddha images do not demonstrate imperviousness to suffering, since the Buddha himself was a man, but rather symbolize the ways in which it may be lessened or avoided. At their highest level of expression, of course, all three religions are religions of peace and teach the same thing: that the verb "to be" ought to be given greater centrality than the verb "to have" in our lives. Date Added: 23/09/2005
Gone Away The history of Christianity as a religion has nothing to do with the religion itself, Ken. Yes, there have been hopelessly misguided folk who considered themselves Christians and committed murder and genocide in defence of their understanding of the religion; yet their very actions show that they were not Christians at all. Christ himself showed the way, refusing to take up the sword when it was offered. But Islam was spread by the sword from the very beginning, Mohammed leading the expedition to conquer Mecca, the town that had rejected him, and jihad or "holy war" is an intrinsic part of the religion, as is the insistence that God's "honor" be protected by his followers (as if any God needs humans to defend Him). To say that this is a religion of peace strikes me as ignoring the facts. And, as for Buddhism, like most Eastern religions, it has nothing to say about God, proposing rather that man can escape the world by ascending to some higher state of being. The fact that it suggests that the way to do this is to become detached from the world seems to me very like the cold, metal statue that has no relevance for the common man. A religion of peace? Maybe, if the only peace that is to be found is in turning one's back upon the world... Date Added: 23/09/2005
Josh Intemperate indeed. I am forced to ask--risking offense--if you do not see the irony in deprecating the beliefs of others while offering only absolutism as a defense of your own. It seems like a patent defenestration of more than one of the core tenets of Christianity: the prohibition against judging a fellow man, and therefore the doing God's job for him; and of course the fundamental (and oft ignored) idea that civility and forgiveness--things which granted seem so difficult to humanity--are not merely suggestions, but indeed obligations of the faithful. I'm a non-practicing Jew as you may or may not know (lord knows what mainstream Christianity thinks of us this week), but from what I gather from my travels, this last concept is perhaps the most important message delivered by the prophet Jesus Christ. When faced with folks who, bouyed by good intentions, choose to tell me what my relationship with God should be, my immediate reaction is indignation. I try to forgive them, of course. I like to think of it like this: I would never let a doctor operate on me if I knew he had learned his trade solely from a book. Date Added: 24/09/2005
Gone Away You may see it as intemperance if you wish, Josh; I merely point out some facts about other religions without reference to those who believe in them. To ignore blatant truth of such belief systems is to live in la-la-land. And I'm tired of this nonsense that all religions are about peace; it just isn't true and there's nothing I can do about that. Read the Koran, study Buddhism; it's all in there. As to ignoring any tenets of Christianity, I have judged no-one but pointed out that a part of some belief systems is in exact opposition to the concept of a loving God. Is it my fault that their holy books make this quite clear? Forgiveness? Who am I to decide that anyone has committed a crime, let alone forgive them? If I attack the belief system, do not imagine that I condemn any who believe in that system. Absolutism we have discussed before and you know my stance on that. Without absolute truth, nothing has worth and everything is meaningless. And (since I seem to be dealing with your comment in reverse order) you need not worry about offence. 'Tis not possible in my case, good friend. :) Date Added: 24/09/2005
Josh If I attack the belief system, do not imagine that I condemn any who believe in that system This is a false distinction, Clive. Attacking the tenets of a persons deeply-held beliefs and in the same breath offering the platitude that you "do not ... condemn any who believe in that system" is a bit absurd, at least to my ears. Date Added: 24/09/2005
Mark I think we need to get back to a less volatile subject like politics. God is on the throne… as long as there is a Republican in the White House. Once those god-less Democrats get back in office who knows what we’ll be worshiping. Seriously though, my hat is off to you Clive. You are either courageous or crazy to put your faith on the line like this. Nothing rankles the feathers like a good religious debate. As one currently making his way through the valley of indecision religiously speaking I can most certainly identify with the prophet Jeremiah. Been there, done that got the emotional scars to prove it. I don’t know about all the spiritual juxtaposing you deep thinkers are so adapt at putting forth. For me, Groucho Marx said it best, “The Lord Alps them that Alps themselves.” Amen Groucho. Amen. Date Added: 24/09/2005
Gone Away Christians suffer it every day, Josh (although they also have the burden of being called fools for believing as they do). If anyone's belief system is such that it cannot stand a little bashing, I suggest they look elsewhere. ;) Date Added: 24/09/2005
Josh Read the Koran, study Buddhism; it's all in there I have, actually. As far as I can tell, though, I did not approach this study with the preconcieved notion that they were intrinsically misquided, but rather with from an anthropological perspective which, in my opinion allowed me to see these manifestations of faith in the context in which they were born and still exist. Date Added: 24/09/2005
Gone Away You are probably right, Mark - it was a foolish thing to do. But hey, even an old geezer is allowed to stir the pot occasionally, ain't he? And some might take heart from the fact that their God is a forgiving one, first and foremost... Date Added: 24/09/2005
Gone Away And neither did I, Josh. I studied them because I had already met God and needed to find out which religions were talking about Him. Date Added: 24/09/2005
Josh Persecution? Last time I checked religious conservatives had the ear (and the bankroll) of the majority party in all three branches of government. And all this time I thought we were the ones bent on proving the world was out to get us. Date Added: 24/09/2005
Gone Away Ah, you revert to politics, Josh. What have religious conservatives (or liberals for that matter) to do with God? Don't blame me for the misconceptions of so-called Christians who put their faith in the politics of this world. :D Date Added: 24/09/2005
Josh Oh, I see. So no more cracks from you about Bush nominating someone to make "them howl" then, yeah? ;) Date Added: 24/09/2005
Gone Away Well, it's what I'd do if I was in his position, Josh. :D Just because I've bought something in one store, doesn't mean I can't make comments about goods in another store... ;) Date Added: 24/09/2005
Rick That was a nice analysis Clive. I especially appreciate your comments about the Lord's not smiting the complainer. There certainly is rich treasure to be found in the Scriptures. And your comments distinguishing between true Christians and "Christian History" are spot on. Many who critique the faith really have no idea what the true faith is all about. Date Added: 24/09/2005
Stuart Clive - I think what you have uncovered here is the fact that so many people judge true Christianity by the actions of those who merely play lip-service to it. It is sad but today the world judges Christians by the actions of some who Christ will undoubtedly reject when they call on his name for salvation. Damn ... did I let the cat out of the bag there or what? Date Added: 24/09/2005
Gone Away Thank you, Rick. Well, we always get the same things thrown at us (the Crusades, the Inquisition, etc.) - one becomes very used to batting those off. ;) I must admit that busy-ness has prevented me from visiting your site for a while - my apologies. Just had a quick look and I see I have a lot to catch up on! Date Added: 24/09/2005
Gone Away Cat, Stuart? I saw no cat... ;) Date Added: 24/09/2005
glenniah You illustrate a great and important point here. God tells us that He knows our weaknesses and that we are just flesh. God is not seeking to punish us for what we are or for being less than He is, He loves us and has chosen to love us. What confidence we have that, like a petulant child assailing a parent with cries of "unfair" that God, like a father, always loves us through it. His intent is not to find our faults and our weaknesses and shove them in our faces but to gently guide us. Gone, you have such a talent for expressing what you see in the Word, and your perspectives are honest and bring outsomething human and simple to relate to, yet deep and meaningful. I enjoyed this post immensely. Glenni Date Added: 24/09/2005
Gone Away Thank you, Glenni. You have a way with words yourself. :) Date Added: 24/09/2005
glenniah btw Gone, I think you are a very brave man to have the courage of your convictions and speak out. Considering poor old Jerry was thrown into a pit because nobody liked what he said. Glenni *grin* Date Added: 24/09/2005
Gone Away On the internet, everyone's a hero, Glenni. ;) Date Added: 24/09/2005
Ken As a means of more firmly entrenching the rightness of one's own religious point of view, I can see the convenience, firstly, of arguing that the history of Christianity has nothing to do with the behaviour and attitudes of those Christians who practised it while that history was being created, secondly, of disowning all Christians of whose conduct one disapproves or would have disapproved had one been living at the time and, thirdly, of ensuring that all practitioners of other, alternative faiths are regarded in the worst possible light, as either bloodthirsty or escapist. What eludes me completely, though, is how you can fail to realise that it is logically and morally necessary to allow that the argument concerning the limitations of mutual responsibility which you apply to Christians and Christianity, that not all should be tarred with the same brush, must be applied equally to Muslims and Islam, to Buddhists and Buddhism, as well to all members of all other faith groups. I simply do not understand the lack of logic. Date Added: 24/09/2005
Gone Away It requires a little understanding of the basic tenets of each faith, Ken. Christianity is fairly easy to define by looking at the actions of its founder, Jesus Christ; he models the behavior of any who follow him. In the same way, we can look at the behavior of the founder of Islam, Mohammed. He led a violent invasion of Mecca from Medina and sanctioned the conversion by the sword of huge swathes of Arabia and the Middle East during his lifetime. I deduce from this that violence is acceptable behavior for the followers of Islam, whereas similar behavior by self-professed Christians is in diametric opposition to the teachings and model of Christ. My dismissal of Buddhism stems from the fact that it does not claim to be talking of God but puts forward a method for man to achieve a state known as nirvana. Since my concern is always motivated by knowing God more, Buddhism has nothing to say to me. Date Added: 24/09/2005
John (SYNTAGMA) I can understand your point of view here, Clive. I've always revered the Book of Job, which is perhaps even more (apparently) negative than Jeremiah. Jung's brilliant analysis is one of the masterpieces of the 20th century, in my opinion. The idea is that to move up to the next level of consciousness, beyond bodily death, you have to transcend the human body and mind. If you place yourself in the hands of "the living God" the world around you does this for you. Hence the pain of Job. It's the short path to salvation and is only suitable for the spiritual Olympian. These texts were not written for general consumption, and are often misinterpreted by those who think the spiritual path is a bed of roses. Date Added: 24/09/2005
Gone Away Interesting that you should mention the book of Job, John. It crossed my mind, too, when I was writing this article. Not having read Jung's analysis of it, I can't comment on that, but it seems to me that Job is essentially about God's sovereignty. Job complained that he was doing everything right but still it seemed that everything bad was happening to him. Although he held to his faith, there remained a core of resentment within until he realised that God is God and you can't argue with that. He does as He sees fit. That was enough for Job to understand and accept whatever happened. This is a different aspect of God from the one encountered in Jeremiah's Complaint, but they are related. Jeremiah knew full well that God was in charge but still felt that he could complain about the tasks set him - and did, quite vociferously! Date Added: 24/09/2005
Trée Clive, I go away for a couple days and what have you done--lol. Well, unlike many of my Christian friends who have judged me, convicted me and already determined that I have a one way ticket straight to hell for all of eternity, I will make no judgments on this posting--lol. Date Added: 24/09/2005
John (SYNTAGMA) On Buddhism : there's a lot of moth-eaten baggage attached to Buddhism, as there is to most religions. The basis though is that there is no fundamental difference between the essence of a person and the essence you might want to call God, or Buddha-mind, whatever. It's all a matter of recognizing your true Essence. This can be done in the human body by transcending it spiritually, then going on to recognize "God", "Essence" in everything, including yourself. Christianity calls this "pantheism", a derogatory word. I prefer panentheism, a word that describes the centrality of all that exists. Date Added: 24/09/2005
Gone Away Blogging is about personal opinion always, Trée; I admit that a mischievous smile crossed my face as I wrote the sentence that the great majority of these comments have concentrated on. I knew exactly what I was inviting! But it's my opinion of the "religions" referred to only - I do not profess to have made lifetime studies of either of them, merely investigated them when I was looking for the name of the God I'd already met. And I found, as I've said, that Buddhism was not talking of God at all. But hey, if that's your bag, who am I to deflect you from your quest? ;) Date Added: 24/09/2005
Gone Away A rose by any other name, John. It seems to me that you're saying that all is God and it's just a matter of recognizing the part of God that you contain and that connects you to everything else. Which is fine, if that's what you want to believe. But it has nothing to do with the God that I met, who stands apart from the universe yet upholds it. My belief is that He is the Creator God and therefore is much more than just everything. It's a matter of how you define the term "God", I think... Date Added: 24/09/2005
Ken I'm going to withdraw from this thread, Gone Away, because there is clearly no point in my remaining in it, although I don't think you should assume, because we disagree about what I regard as points of morality and logic and you see as issues of rightness, that I have no understanding of the basic tenets of the three religions you're concerned with. The opposite might very well be truer than you know and to assert otherwise would be both patronising and as misguided as for me to assume that your views are simplistic and rejectionist to an alarming degree. In addition, we might then fall out, which would never do! Date Added: 24/09/2005
Gone Away Oh, I could have a wonderful discussion on atheism with you, Ken! But I agree that we should not fall out over this - I apologize for having implied any deficiency in your knowledge of the subject; it was not intended, I assure you. We shall, as the saying goes, agree to differ on this issue. :) Date Added: 24/09/2005
John (SYNTAGMA) I have a theory that all differences are reconciled once you realize that there are levels of consciousness and understanding. What one person believes is true on the level of "light" that they inhabit. I try not to deride others' beliefs for this reason.
You mention "the God you met", Clive. I too had a profound experience on November 15, 1993, which I call "Nirvanic" because the Eastern descriptions seemed to match it best. I wrote it down immediately afterwards and will email it to you, if you're interested. Date Added: 24/09/2005
Gone Away I hope you don't feel that I am deriding anyone's beliefs, John; the intent was merely to point out one or two differences in the way religions view the word "God". Naturally, I am kindest to that view which I believe to be truth; it would be strange if I did otherwise. And of course I'd be interested to read of your experience, particularly as it would allow me to see how it compares to my own. I have tried many times to describe that experience but always fallen far short. It dates from 1970 but is still as vivid and life-changing as ever. Date Added: 24/09/2005
John (SYNTAGMA) No, Clive, I wasn't commenting on your views. You are always the perfect gentleman, if that's not too uncool :-). OK, I'll send it on to you. I'd be interested in comparing notes. Date Added: 24/09/2005
Gone Away Sounds good to me, John. :) Date Added: 24/09/2005
Josh Hey, some of my best friends are godless heathens. Date Added: 24/09/2005
Gone Away And some of mine, Josh. ;) Date Added: 24/09/2005
Loni VERY WELL WRITTEN! I clicked to your blog because you are "BLOG OF THE DAY!" CONGRATUATIONS, and it's neat to see someone who takes a stand for God be able to "win". May it bring Glory to Him, and show others the way to Him. Loni Date Added: 25/09/2005
Eric Congratulations on Blog of the day. While I'm not at all religious, I found your piece well written. Keep up the good work! Date Added: 25/09/2005
Mark Yes, Blog of the Day @ Blog Explosion... as challenging as the catch of the day to land and just as hard to hold onto. Date Added: 25/09/2005
Gone Away Thank you, Loni. I've been out all evening so it was a bit of a surprise to return and find that I'd made blog of the day at BE - glad you decided to visit. :) Date Added: 25/09/2005
Gone Away Thanks very much for the kind comments, Eric! :) Date Added: 25/09/2005
Gone Away Thanks, Mark - only just discovered this as I've been out all evening. But I think blog of the day at BE is a random thing - a matter of luck more than anything else. You're right about it being short-lived, however. :D Date Added: 25/09/2005
ME Strauss Hey Gone, Great discussion, but one this American finds much easier to read about than to participate in. These are one-to-one topics for my kind. I came back again to CONGRATULATE YOU ON BEING NAMED BLOG EXPLOSION BLOG OF THE DAY! It ups the traffic a spike or so. If you don't have enough champagne from all of your recent celebrating, let me know and I'll send some over. Date Added: 25/09/2005
Gone Away Thank you, Liz. :) Champagne is always welcome, you know! ;) Date Added: 25/09/2005
Janus Well written and congrats on being the Blog of the Day Clive Date Added: 25/09/2005
Gone Away Thanks, Janus! Date Added: 25/09/2005
Theist This is a great post! I've read that passage before but never considered it in that light. But what you say is very true, and many people tend to forget that Christians aren't perfect. Sometimes once a person is saved they think they have to be this rigid individual who can't get upset at or question GOD. But why not? - We are human. But GOD is always mindful of the burdens we bare, as it says, HE only gives us what we can handle. Date Added: 05/03/2008
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