Conclusion

Perhaps the most famous and controversial witness from a victim of the Holocaust is Anne Frank’s: “in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.” Bruno Bettelheim pounced on this remark as a tragic blindness to and acquiescence in evil: “Anne Frank died because her parents could not get themselves to believe in Auschwitz. And her story found wide acclaim because for us too, it denies implicitly that Auschwitz ever existed. If all men are good, there was never an Auschwitz.” In concluding, I examine Anne Frank’s case and, contra Bettelheim, praise it as emblematic of Judaism generally. Anne was not naïve or in denial about Nazi wickedness; she was, rather, a Suffering Servant, a modern Mordecai. She did not bow down to temporal authority, but she refused to hate even when faced with despite and death. Thus she was a light to the nations.

Reading Isaiah in Asia

This chapter discusses four areas of interaction between the book of Isaiah and the author’s context as a Chinese Singaporean woman. First, the Asian emphasis on the family underscores the fatherhood of God in Isaiah, while Isaiah’s depiction of God’s fatherly grace is a model for the Asian family. Secondly, Isaiah’s maternal imagery of God provides a corrective to Confucian patriarchy in a complementary rather than combative way. Thirdly, Isaiah’s favorite title for God as “the Holy One” fits in with Asia’s religious context, but the relational aspect of the Holy One “of Israel” reveals the personal nature of the Divine. Fourthly, Isaiah’s monotheistic faith challenges Singapore’s pluralistic society, but the universal message of the Suffering Servant crosses boundaries for the good of all.

Isaiah’s Suffering Servant: Before and After Christianity

The so-called “Suffering Servant” of Isaiah 52:15–53:12 takes on new meaning in each of his settings, from the exilic or early post-exilic community of Deutero-Isaiah, to the repurposing of this figure by the author of Daniel, mid-second century BCE during the persecutions of Jews by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, through the numerous New Testament citations of and allusions to Jesus as fulfilling Isaiah’s predictions concerning this servant, and on to several post-biblical Jewish understandings of this enigmatic figure. In showing how and why the servant receives such numerous readings, we demonstrate both how readers across the centuries and within different traditions understand Isaiah through their own circumstances, and why Jews and Christians should respect each other’s readings rather than attempt to “prove” the truth of one tradition on the basis of a specific understanding of prophecy.

Deskripsi Hamba yang Menderita Menurut Yesaya 52:13-53:12

The theological theme of "Servant Who Suffers," is the subject of research, with an explanation derived from Isaiah 52:13-53:12. Various considerations became the basis or foundation for this research. Among them are differences in views about the original author from the Book of Isaiah, which became the "distant context" of this research subject, as well as the debate about "the person or identity of the suffering servant." This research is intended not only to bring out differences from the views of the two groups but also to provide confirmation and solutions to these differences. Of course, the results of this study, not solely based on the thoughts and personal assumptions of the author. The method used in this research is qualitative research which describing and discussing these sections based on biblical studies and some views of experts as a source of literature from the research subjects.AbstrakTema teologis “Hamba yang Menderita,” merupakan subyek penelitian, dengan penjelasan yang bersumber pada Yesaya 52:13-53:12. Berbagai pertimbangan menjadi dasar atau landasan bagi penelitian ini, seperti perbedaan pandangan mengenai penulis asli dari Kitab Yesaya, yang menjadi “konteks jauh” dari subyek penelitian ini, serta perdebatan mengenai “pribadi atau identitas dari hamba yang menderita.” Penelitian ini, dimaksudkan tidak hanya memunculkan perbedaan dari pandangan kedua kelompok tersebut, namun juga memberikan penegasan dan jalan keluar bagi perbedaan-perbedaan tersebut. Tentunya hasil dari pada penelitian ini, bukan semata-mata berdasarkan pada pemikiran dan asumsi pribadi penulis. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah kualitatif yaitu dengan cara memaparkan dan membahas bagian-bagian tersebut dengan berlandaskan pada kajian biblika serta beberapa pandangan para pakar sebagai sumber literatur dari subyek penelitian tersebut.

Conclusion

This chapter examines the way in which the interpretation of the atonement argued for in this book, here baptized as ‘the Marian interpretation,’ fits with well-known biblical texts about the atonement of Christ, especially those texts that seem to privilege the Anselmian kind of interpretation. The most notable of such texts are those having to do with sacrifice, but there are other important texts as well. The chapter starts with texts about sacrifice. Then it considers more briefly some of the endlessly discussed passages in the Epistle to the Romans. It ends with a short consideration of one of the passages on the suffering servant in Isaiah. It concludes with reflections on the nature of love and the essential place of love in the doctrine of the atonement.