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A10 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2025 INDIANAPOLIS RECORDERBy LARRY SMITHIs it wrong to ask why God allows bad things to happen? It%u2019s an ageold question that a lot of religious people find to be inappropriate. In fact, that%u2019s just one of many questions that millions of us were taught to avoid when we were children.E. Dewey Smith, who pastors a megachurch near Atlanta, has preached about being reared in a home in which %u201cquestioning God%u201d was considered to be sinful. Smith, to whom I am not related (as far as I know), was taught that merely asking God questions was disrespectful. The implication was that asking God questions was an affront to His infallibility. However, as Pastor Smith began studying the Bible on his own, he encountered many instances in which people %u2013 not to mention Jesus Christ %u2013 seemed to have no problem making inquiries to God. Thus, if asking God questions is sinful, even Jesus Christ Himself would have been a sinner, which would have rendered Him unqualified to be the Savior. Theologian Thomas Aquinas accepted God%u2019s existence as an inarguable article of faith. For Aquinas, God cannot not exist; God is the First Cause (or Uncaused Cause) from whom everything else came into existence. Aquinas also believed that it is completely acceptable to question God%u2019s nature because it is impossible to comprehend God completely. Inquiring about God%u2019s nature is one way in which humans attempt to get to know God more intimately.I raise these points because there are so many difficult things going on in our lives, in our nation and in our world. For example, the famine crises in Sudan, South Sudan and Haiti are almost beyond imagination. Sadly, those crises %u2013 which are a result of human conflict %u2013 barely register in our public consciousness. Where is God in all this?Many of us who are people of faith often struggle to reconcile our belief in an all-loving, all-present, allknowing and all-powerful God with the awful reality that we see, and perhaps experience, every day. In short, how could such a God allow human suffering on such a large scale? This is where an examination of the concept of theodicy comes in.At its simplest, theodicy is how people of faith vindicate God%u2019s righteousness, goodness, faithfulness and superintendency in the face of evil. At its best, theodicy is not a rationalization of God%u2019s inaction; it is an explanation of God%u2019s sovereignty. Most of the things that people consider to be bad, wrong, and/or immoral are a result of human action or inaction. We generally refer to this phenomenon as free will. Free will exists to some degree even in the most repressive or totalitarian societies. For example, even people who are incarcerated in a maximum-security prison can choose to act kindly with their fellow inmates. Conversely, they can choose to commit acts of violence, even if it is unwarranted. God allows us to choose.Of course, free will goes well beyond the interpersonal. For example, God does not cause war %u2013 even when we fight them in God%u2019s name. Reasons for war may be simple or complex, but what they all have in common is an affirmative decision by one group of people to attack another group of people. And once war begins, it is impossible to predict all the evil that will happen as a result thereof. Regardless of what happens, the problem is with us, not with our Creator.Skeptical? Consider the following scenario. Suppose that someone gets inebriated and then causes a major auto accident by driving recklessly. Would we blame the automaker? Of course not. It will always be possible to make a safer vehicle. It will never be possible to create a car that is impervious to bad human decisions. I am grateful that God decided to give us free will. I believe that is related to His decision not to create us to be automatons. In reflecting about God%u2019s nature, I often think about the 70s hit song %u201cI Want You to Want Me%u201d by the group Cheap Trick. God wants us to want Him. That desire, I believe, is rooted in His decision to give us free will. Yes, this raises many other questions. Those include the role of mental illness and whether God created that, God%u2019s role in natural disasters, and why (in the belief of religious people) God prevents some acts of evil but allows others. Those are all legitimate topics. Perhaps we can explore them in the future. God willing. Contact community leader Larry Smith at larry@leaf-llc.com. By ANDR%u00c9 CARSONThe U.S. government has been shut down since October 1. Republicans have control of the House, the Senate, and the White House %u2013 but they refuse to acknowledge this shutdown is the direct result of their decisions, and their failure to provide health care for working people in this country.Democrats have one demand: don%u2019t slash health care for 22 million Americans. Before the Affordable Care Act (ACA), nearly one in five Black Americans were uninsured. The ACA, or %u201cObamacare,%u201d changed that. Instead of being barred from insurance coverage because of pre-existing conditions, Black communities could finally get coverage %u2013 a necessity considering Black Americans are hit disproportionately hard by diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and heart disease. Since the ACA was enacted in 2010, more Black Americans became insured than ever %u2013 and the numbers increased thanks to new tax credits Democrats passed in 2022. These cost savings led to recordbreaking enrollment in health insurance %u2013 leading to better health outcomes, better wealth accumulation and ultimately lives saved. Because of Republicans%u2019 decision to end the ACA credits for working families, but make tax cuts for billionaires permanent, these cost savings are expiring. Americans will experience skyrocketing health care costs in 2026 at a time when the cost of living is already too high. The job market is getting worse. Trump%u2019s tariffs will cause an average of $1,300 in extra costs per household this year. The cost of groceries and housing is too high. Skyrocketing health care costs on top of this is not sustainable. Hardworking Americans have had enough. Adding to this stress is the real fear of militarized units profiling Black and Brown people and snatching them off the streets because of the color of their skin. These are difficult times, and we must stand together to protect our neighbors and defend our democracy.That%u2019s why Democrats are holding the line and refusing to rubber stamp the Trump administration%u2019s assault on the middle class and ignoring the Constitution. There are many myths and misconceptions about the shutdown that I%u2019d like to clear up: Myth: The shutdown is Democrats%u2019 fault Republicans hold majorities in the House, the Senate, and the White House %u2013 if they had done their work and passed all annual appropriations bills by September 30, there would be no shutdown. But they couldn%u2019t agree among themselves, and they%u2019ve refused to negotiate with Democrats on compromise bills. So, if Republicans want Democrats to vote for their spending package, they must bring us to the table. That%u2019s how a negotiation works. Despite total control in Washington, Republicans chose to shut down the government instead of negotiating to fix the health care crisis they created. The majority party %u2013 which right now, is the Republican party %u2013 has the responsibility to set the voting schedule. Not only has House Republican leadership refused to work on compromise legislation with Democrats, but they have also not even allowed the House to cast a single vote %u2013 on any bill %u2013 since Sept. 19. It%u2019s clear the MAGA majority has no interest in actual governing. Myth: We can open up the government and then address health careDemocrats tried that earlier this year and it didn%u2019t work. Republicans lied and have done nothing to help solve the crisis they created. Democrats have been fighting and negotiating all year to extend these cost savings. Americans have already started receiving notifications that the cost of the same health care plan they had in 2025 is going to double in 2026. In some cases, that can mean a household paying $17,000 more a year for the same plan. That%u2019s completely unsustainable, and it%u2019s not something that can wait. We need to tackle this issue right now. Myth: Democrats want to give health care to illegal aliens Undocumented immigrants are not and have never been eligible for Affordable Care Act insurance. Democrats are not trying to change this current law. The Trump administration is spreading this misinformation to distract from the real issue: Americans need affordable health care, including in areas of the country that overwhelmingly voted for Donald Trump. In fact, most Americans who rely on the ACA live in Republican areas. Myth: The shutdown is the reason SNAP is only partially funded for NovemberCongress passed a SNAP Contingency Fund for this exact scenario we are in %u2013 to ensure a shutdown doesn%u2019t interrupt SNAP benefits. The administration is playing politics with SNAP recipients. Even though the Trump administration had the funds to continue funding SNAP through November, it took a court order to force them to comply with the law. And even then, the administration only agreed to partially fund SNAP for the month. Twenty-two million children rely on this program for their meals %u2013 children who need nutrients to grow. Children should not go hungry because of political games, but this Trump administration is using them as bargaining chips. This also comes after Trump signed a law in July that slashed $186 billion from SNAP benefits. As this shutdown continues, I%u2019m committed to keeping you informed. Visit carson.house.gov for up-to-date information. I%u2019m going to keep fighting for you %u2013 for your health, your safety and your family. %u2018Why, God?%u2019What%u2019s happening with the shutdown. By MAXINE BRYANTIn the U.S., three powerful myths %u2014 the story of Columbus discovering America, the First Thanksgiving, and the Southern Strategy %u2014 have done more than shape our understanding of history. As 2025 draws to an end and we enter into a season of Thanksgiving, I reflect on our country%u2019s history and what it took to get us here, a time of chaos and confusion. Historically, the U.S. has constructed stories that cast it as a bright light. It%u2019s time to be just as strategic in our truth-telling as those who built the lies.The Columbus myth: Inventing legitimacyThe story goes that a brave explorer %u201cdiscovered%u201d a new world and opened the path to civilization. But that tale of discovery is really a story of erasure. Indigenous peoples had lived across the Americas for tens of thousands of years, building vast, complex societies. The Columbus myth transformed invasion into heroism and genocide into God%u2019s plan.Its strategic function was to legitimize colonization and to tell the world that history began when Europeans arrived %u2014 and everyone else was merely %u201cfound.%u201dThe Thanksgiving myth: Inventing innocenceFast-forward to 1621 and a familiar image: Pilgrims and Native Americans sitting together in gratitude and peace, the supposed birth of American friendship and faith. But the real story is far more complex.The Wampanoag people, led by Massasoit, joined the feast as concerned neighbors. Hearing gunfire from the settlers, they came to investigate. Their nation had been ravaged by a European-borne epidemic. That gathering was not a religious celebration and did not mark the start of lasting peace. Within decades, the alliance collapsed in war and blood.Two centuries later, in 1863, Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in the midst of the Civil War. His goal was to unify a fractured nation under a shared, moral story. Thanksgiving, then, was not simply a holiday %u2014 it was a strategic cleansing of colonial guilt. It taught that America%u2019s beginnings were humble, cooperative, and blessed by God %u2014 not built on displacement and genocide. The Southern Strategy: Inventing divisionIf Columbus created legitimacy and Thanksgiving created innocence, the Southern Strategy created control.After the Civil Rights Movement dismantled Jim Crow laws in the 1960s, political strategists faced the challenge of how to preserve white political power post-desegregation. The answer was familiar %u2014 change the story.Instead of open racism, they spoke of %u201cstates%u2019 rights,%u201d %u201claw and order,%u201d and %u201cfamily values.%u201d Confederate symbols were rebranded as heritage. Economic inequality became %u201cpersonal responsibility.%u201d Racial resentment was coded as patriotism.Perfected by Nixon and Reagan, this strategy redefined who %u201creal Americans%u201d were %u2014 and who was taking their country away. It convinced millions that protecting privilege was defending freedom.The architecture of American myth Together, these three stories form a continuum built on the power of mythical narrative. The Columbus myth justifies colonization and builds false pride in America%u2019s origins. The Thanksgiving myth paints a picture of innocence, gratitude, and harmony. The Southern Strategy preserves racial power and stokes fear and nostalgia among a chosen few.Together, they create the illusion of a moral nation.A call for strategic truthIt%u2019s not enough to correct these myths with facts. Our counter-narratives must do what theirs did: move hearts, shape identity, and make justice feel like destiny.I stand on the African proverb: Until the Lion tells the story, the hunter is always the hero. Now is the time to strategically and boldy tell truth. If myths built America, then truth %u2014 strategically told %u2014 can rebuild it.Visit www.drmaxinebryant.com for more information.The myths that built America %u2014 and the truth that must rebuild it(317) 924-5143P.O. Box 18499, Indianapolis, IN 46218-0499newsroom@indyrecorder.comIndianapolis Recorder Newspaper encourages short, concise letters to the editor and opinion articles from the public. Letters and opinion articles will be used at the editor%u2019s discretion and are subject to editing. We will not guarantee publication of material received. We cannot guarantee dates of publication. Letters containing libelous or untrue statements will not be published. All letters and opinion articles must include a verifiable full name, address and telephone number. This information will not be published at the request of the writer. Letters and articles should be typed but will be accepted if handwriting is legible.George P. StewartFounder-EditorPublisher1895-1924Marcus C. Stewart Sr.Editor-Publisher1925-1988Eunice TrotterEditor-in-ChiefPublisher1988-1990William G. 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