A Subtle Theological Point

Andrew Klavan

Referring to the belief that God decides during the Jewish New Year “who shall live and who shall die,” Obama told the rebs, “We are God’s partners in matters of life and death.”

In response to this statement I would like to make a subtle theological point: No, we’re not. For those of you who aren’t versed in the finer points of theology, let me try to simplify that for you: No. We’re not. Or to put it even more simply: No. We. Are. Not.

...when God tells Jeremiah (1:5), “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you,” or when he sarcastically asks Job (38:17), “Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? Or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?” does that sound to you like a guy discussing matters with his partners? To me, God really seems to be suggesting there that we humans know sweet suffering goose-egg about the greater mysteries of life and death. Indeed, he seems to feel that the understanding of those mysteries is reserved for him alone and their disposition in his sole power. It’s possible, if properly understood, he might include even Barack Obama in his list of people whose partnership he is not soliciting in these matters.