The Wrath that Came

Book excerpt: The Wrath that Came alludes to the preaching of John the Baptist in Mt. 3:7, which serves as the starting point for an analysis of evil and wrath in contemporary society. After establishing the undeniable and inexplicable reality of evil, this book discusses the futile attempts to reconcile evil with the reality of God as well as the modern secularization of evil through psychology, medicine, and philosophy. The primitive concept of divine wrath as “brimstone and fire” is presented, but then rejected in favour of the insight of the Apostle Paul. According to Paul, the wrath of God is manifested not in catastrophic events, but rather in his withdrawal – the silent response to evil. Finally, an analysis of the self demonstrates that evil and wrath have both an individual and a societal dimension.