What does "instruments of God's will" mean?!


Question: What does "instruments of God's will" mean?
An excerpt in my textbook says "...cannot be maintained without regarding Hitler and the SS as instruments of God's will"

if more background is needed, the text is talking about the notion of theodicy and the holocaust

I wanted to add this quote in my essay as a proof of some sort, but i can't do that because i dont quite understand what this term means

Answers:

It's a standard religious phrase: "instrument of God's will" = someone or something that carries out God's intentions, not necessarily in ways that are explicable at the time.

The quotation refers to the theological problem of the Holocaust. Traditional Jewish thinking is that historical misfortunes to the Jews are down to God punishing or testing the Jewish people. If this is applied to the Holocaust, it means accepting that the actions of Hitler and the SS were something God wanted to happen; and a number of Jewish theologians have broken with traditional theodicy over this.



In this instance the writer is suggesting that God might have used Hitler and the SS as tools to achieve his purpose, aims, plans, intentions. It is sometimes suggested that although people think they are doing things of their own volition they are actually being used by God, who has his own agenda.



"It is sometimes suggested that although people think they are doing things of their own volition they are actually being used by God, who has his own agenda"

Or perhaps as a legal defense when brought to court for their Devils agenda. Just sayin'.



Depends on which god you are referring to. Thor uses a big hammer.




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