Journal: Bulletin for Biblical Research
Volume: BBR 23:1 (NA 2013)
Article: The Human Ideal, The Problem Of Evil, And Moral Responsibility In 4 Maccabees
Author: David A. deSilva

BBR 23:1 (2013) p. 57

The Human Ideal, The Problem Of Evil, And Moral Responsibility In 4 Maccabees

David A. Desilva

Ashland Theological Seminary

Though lying outside the Jewish and Christian canons, 4 Maccabees raises questions fundamental to what it means to be moral beings in relationship to a holy God and thus addresses questions of primary importance for ethics and theology. What does it mean to be fully human? Where is God, and what is the proper human response, in the midst of the experience of evil? What role do convictions about life beyond death play in the confrontation of evil in human experience? 4 Maccabees promotes a view of the human being and a set of convictions concerning death and the life beyond that nurture moral accountability beyond self-preservation and self-interest. These convictions free the individual from the domination of these drives for other-centered moral actions—empowering one to resist inducements to perpetrate evil or cooperate with evil—that give us life, in a sense, beyond ourselves.

Key Words: anthropology, evil, afterlife, Torah, ethics, self-mastery

Introduction

Like the scriptural texts that form the authoritative basis for theological and ethical reflection, parabiblical texts also wrestle with some of the most basic questions of human existence before God. They do so, moreover, alongside us on the basis of the same, shared scriptural heritage. Our spiritual forebears in early Judaism and the early church have much, therefore, to contribute to our own ongoing attempts to struggle with the large questions that occupy—even plague—the minds of every person at some point, if not at many points, in his or her existence: What does it mean to be fully human? Whence does evil intrude on human experience, and where does the responsibility for evil lie? Where is God in the midst of the experience of evil? How can “good” be restored? What is the meaning and significance of death? What role do convictions about life beyond death play in the confrontation of evil in human experience?

The following essay seeks to probe 4 Maccabees to discover its author’s answers to these questions. Even though this text stands in the outermost

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fringes of the Christian OT canon (and is nowhere to be found in the landscape of the Jewish canon) it focuses on such central questions of what it means to be human in relationship to God in the midst of life’s struggles, both internal and external. As the author of 4 Maccabees explores his “quintessentially philosophical principle” (φιλοσοφώτατον λόγον), namely, “if pious reason is master of the passions” (You must have a subscription and be logged in to read the entire article.
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