God-Justice versus Evil in Qoheleth: A Materialist Interpretation

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to survey the issue of God-justice versus evil in selected passages of Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes) with slant on the materialist stance. God –justice versus evil is linked with the way justice operates here in the world. The justice of God cannot be separated from the actual experience of justice in the social process, because Yahweh’s presence in Israel is known through and against the social process. The well-being of the oppressors in Nigeria is not caused directly by God as though by edict, but their well-being takes place through the nexus of socio-political processes. Likewise the suffering of the poor is not caused by God’s hatred but by flawed and narcissistic handling of the system. By and large it is man that causes injustice and it is man that suffers it. Everyone has a part in creating and sustaining a healthier environment for justice, for God of Qoheleth is in our world of flesh and blood to call for justice through the actions of men instead of engaging in the usual reconciliation of God’s justice with evil alone. The method of the study is hermeneutical.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n8p528