The book of job and the problem of suffering bitesized. Five truths for sufferers from the book of job the. Jul 03, 2016 why do innocent people suffer poverty and disease. The book of job is the first document in history to take seriously the question of why really bad things happen to really good people. Does the book of job offer an explanation for why people suffer. Job is described as an upright man who follows gods commands and is blameless in gods eyes. Such is the enormous influence of this poetic masterpiece that it is now. The book of job is often upheld as an example of godly patience while suffering. Although the book of job does not formally address the problem of evil, which asks why innocent people suffer in a world governed by a god who is allgood and allpowerful, it does provide several insights that relate to the issue. On job godtalk and the suffering of the innocent gutierrez, gustavo, o connell, matthew on. Gustavo says that this disinterested religion alone is true religion. More often than not, when the question of innocent suffering arises, the book of job enters the conversation.
This one focuses on one of the best known texts on the question, the biblical book of job. The book of job tells us that the righteous and innocent may suffer terribly, and that adverse circumstances do not necessarily witness to an individuals moral corruption. The entire epic poem of job is about a good man who suffers terribly yet refuses to give up his faith. Using your textbook and notes, answer one of the following questions in a 400600 word essay. When answering the question of why the innocent suffer, i believe the book of job succeed because job was innocent and feared god, he was a man that was faithful to his beliefs in god, and he was blameless and upright in all his actions.
The book of job in the bibles old testament is a long poem. Such is the enormous influence of the poetic masterpiece that is now commonplace to refer to the patience of job. The next looks at what happens if you decide that, because of the evil and suffering, there cannot be a god at all. Rather, it begins with a typical day in the divine oval office, and the topic of gods just operation of the cosmos is put on the table. Classic bible series 9780312221072 and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at. Such is the enormous influence of this poetic masterpiece that it is now commonplace to refer.
The book of job asks why good people suffer, but never actually answers the question. These are questions that have challenged humans throughout history and many religions and philosophers have struggled to answer. Doc job on the suffering of the innocent robyn cordle. It was printed in crusade magazine in january 1956 see p6 and then published as a booklet later that year. Why the innocent suffers when someone endure suffering, it is a way of proving to god that they are worthy of his promise that they will dwell with him for eternity. How does the book of job help disciples of jesus christ remain faithful to god as they suffer or walk alongside others who suffer in ways that are extreme and inexplicable. To understand a fear of entity, you have to understand the power behind the force.
The israelites spend 400 years oppressed by the egyptians. The book of job does not present concrete solutions about why innocent people suffer. God rebukes jobs three friends and orders them to make a sacrifice. Natural disasters such as floods and famines affect everybody. Jan 02, 2020 yes, the innocent suffer see job 12, but god can redeem that suffering. The book of job is an obvious place to turn when a christian suffers, but it is not. Addressing the problem of theodicy the vindication of the justice of god in the light of humanitys suffering it is a rich theological work setting out a variety of perspectives. Reading scripture from the king james bible has always been more of a chore than a pleasure for me.
Discuss the ways you believe the book of job succeeds or fails in answering the question of why the innocent suffer. Set in uz, an obscure land far from israel, during an unknown time period, the book of job focuses on questions about gods justice and why good people suffer. Godtalk and the suffering of the innocent sheds light upon some of the various meanings of the book of job. In the book of job, meanwhile, baldwin said, the author says, look, sometimes suffering just happens. He rebukes job for claiming to be innocent verses 46 and he tells him to.
Job certainly did suffer, but there is more to his story than just his suffering. Such is the enormous influence of this poetic masterpiece that it. Sickness comes to rich and poor, young and old, evil and good. Although i enjoyed the foreword and the introduction, and especially the section on job in literature, i grew weary reading the book of job. The book of job discusses why innocent people suffer. Joseph the son of jacob is sold into slavery by his brothers. Why do the innocent suffer 9780312221072 by lawrence boadt. Such is the enormous influence of this poetic masterpiece that it is now commonplace to refer to. Job pronounced jobe, was a rich farmer living in the land of uz, somewhere northeast of palestine. The book of job is ancient israelite wisdom literature, and its purpose isnt to teach us about how satan and god make bets and leave innocent peoples fates hanging in the balance. This bible study on the book of job will help you understand why the righteous and the innocent suffer and the wicked thrive and prosper, why god allowed job to suffer, which sin was committed by job and if god punished job unjustly. Gustavo gutierrez, a leading liberation theologian, in on job. Five truths for sufferers from the book of job the gospel coalition.
That pattern reflects certain assumptions with respect to the book of job job 1, not the least of which is the supposition that job actually deals, to. Yes, the innocent suffer see job 12, but god can redeem that suffering. The work is grouped with proverbs and ecclesiastes as a product of the wisdom movement, even though it contains what might be called an antiwisdom strain in that the hero. It teaches humility as god reminds job who is really in control, steadfastness as job refuses to curse god despite his circumstances, and joy and reward when the latter part of. Some bible scholars debate whether he was an actual person or legend, but job is mentioned as a historical figure by the prophet ezekial ezekial 14. Zophar repeats the party line more harshly yet chapter 11. But job silences these three by showing that is no correlation in this world between righteousness and prosperity or between wickedness and suffering. And job had said rash and presumptuous things about god in order to justify himself. Gustavo sees job s authors as emphasizing job s faith which is disinterested, for nothing. The book of job is the first great work of ancient literature to explore in depth the problem of undeserved. Job engages in a passionate and persistent complaint, expressed both to god directly and also to his three friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar.
Why do the righteous suffer according to the book of job. This part of the bible touches fundamental question of guilt, punishment, justice, good and evil. Mar 22, 2019 the book of job attempts to help us understand the deficiencies of a worldview simply based upon the merit, or value, of good conduct, and the demerit, or negative value, of bad conduct. The belief that god smites the many for the sins of the few is even further dissipated in the gospels, he added. As far as the symposium is concerned, the authors purpose seems to be none other than to challenge the view presented by both prophets and historians to the. Satan inflicted suffering upon himwith gods permissionas a test of jobs faith and loyalty to god nevertheless, jobs friends tried to convince him that he was at fault in some way.
Instead the bible is largely a book about people who refused to let go of. The righteous often suffer more than the wicked and the wicked often prosper more than the righteous. The book of job is included among the wisdom writings precisely because it teaches man that pain and suffering are a mystery of divine wisdom. Righteous and innocent people may suffer deeply in every sphere of life physical, social, spiritual, and emotional. This book tells a story of job who is loyal and obedient to god but has to go through much suffering. Citing specifics, explain how one ancient text explains or demonstrates the way to live a good life. No human is innocent, they say, so we all deserve to suffer, even in the worst way possible, and even the least guilty among us the unborn and. Does the book of job offer an explanation for why people. Jobs burden, reconciling unimaginable suffering with the idea of a just god, is a task one that few preachers or academics are bold enough to tackle. A blameless man, who feared the lord and led his family in regular sacrifices to avoid sins. Job prays for gods forgiveness of them and god accepts his prayer. Although most of the book consists of the words of job and his friends, job himself was not the author.
Our loving and merciful god has a perfect plan to use that suffering to accomplish his threefold purpose. How does the book of job help disciples of jesus christ remain faithful to god as they sufferor walk alongside others who sufferin ways that are extreme and inexplicable. The biblical book of job addresses the problem of suffering in a way that is superior to the way moderns tend to talk about it in three ways. The book of job is the first great work of ancient literature to explore in depth the problem of undeserved this volume combines the text of the book of job with essays that show why the trials of job still resonate so powerfully today. The book of job is a very interesting book in the bible. The book of job is amazing for a variety of reasons. Consider a few of the major stories of suffering in the old testament. God created humankind in his image, in the image of god he created them. How adequately does the book of job deal with the problem of innocent suffering. Job is described as an upright man who follows gods commands, and is blameless in gods eyes. The book of job and the problem of suffering bitesized exegesis. Such is the enormous influence of this poetic masterpiece that it is now commonplace to refer to the patience of job.
Classic bible series 9780312221072 and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. Discuss the ways you believe the book of job succeeds or. This summary of the book of job provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of job. May 15, 2014 although the book of job does not formally address the problem of evil, which asks why innocent people suffer in a world governed by a god who is allgood and allpowerful, it does provide several insights that relate to the issue.
At the same time, it also asks the question we rarely. Gustavo sees jobs authors as emphasizing jobs faith which is disinterested, for nothing. Job, who is sure in his innocence, does everything in order to serve god as good as possible. Five truths for sufferers from the book of job the gospel. Elihus point of view is that job is a righteous man, though not perfect, and that he is loved by god. The book of job is not only the finest expression of the hebrew poetic genius. Oct 17, 2008 job is the main book in the bible dealing with suffering. Job is victorious over the superficial theology of his friends. What it does do, is correct misconceptions about why we suffer. The three friends of job had not been able to account for the suffering of this good man with their theology. Godtalk and the suffering of the innocent by gustavo. The book of job is the closest thing in hebrew to a greek tragedy. This bible study on the book of job will help you understand why the righteous and the innocent suffer and the wicked thrive and prosper, why god allowed job. The first three sections i am counting the foreword as one give additional general insight into job, the relevancy of the different characters and famous quotations from job.
The work offers no concrete answers in regards to suffering, rather it emphasizes the mystery of suffering, even gods sufering. Job is a righteous man, and yet all this suffering comes into his life, not because of anything he did. That pattern reflects certain assumptions with respect to the book of job job1, not the least of which is the supposition that job. Job explores the difficult question of gods relationship to human suffering, and invites us to trust gods wisdom and character.
This book is about an innocent man who underwent great suffering. Why did god allow satan to harm jobs health and wealth. Job is an obvious place to turn to when one is overwhelmed with pain, but it is easy for a casual reader to leave the book more mystified than encouraged. Though the word innocent disturbs some, it is used here in the sense of innocence of any wrongdoing as the base for the suffering job endured, not innocence in. This volume combines the text of the book of job with essays that show why the trials of job still resonate so powerfully today. The work is grouped with proverbs and ecclesiastes as a product of the wisdom movement, even though it contains what might be called an antiwisdom strain in that the hero protests. The good news is that god did not leave us here to suffer pointlessly. A perfectly innocent manone who feared god and turned away from evilis visited by a series of calamities. The book of job discusses why god allows pain and suffering. When the righteous suffer, part 1 desiring god 2008 regional conference job. More often than not, when the question of innocent. Job is probably one of the bestknown and most touching characters from the bible. Godtalk and the suffering of the innocent by gustavo gutierrez and wow, was this one a doozy.
At the end of the book, god gives job twice as much wealth as he had before, along with seven sons and three daughters. Instead the bible is largely a book about people who refused to let go of their faith in the face of suffering. For mine eyen didst glazen oer from art thou, hast thou. Gutierrez is trying to make a case for jobs opinions holding value in the realm of understanding why those who are innocent suffer tragedy such as losing family. The book of job attempts to help us understand the deficiencies of a worldview simply based upon the merit, or value, of good conduct, and the demerit, or negative value, of bad conduct. Suffering can be the results of different affects, whether it is. The bulk of the book is the kjv version of job without chapter and verse broken into seven parts. In my personal bible reading, i began the book of job this week. People who suffer deeply often turn to the book of job in the bible. Suffering can be the results of different affects, whether it is due to their own sin or from others sinning. According to the sacred writer, the truly wise man should realize that the fear of the lord, that is wisdom. Sep 09, 2012 the book of job is a part of the old testament.
Job is the main book in the bible dealing with suffering. Job is truly a mysterious work with various meanings, but gutierrez on job reveals a human hearts attempt to reconcile innocent suffering and disinterested religion with the existence of the divine. Third, we can learn from the book of job that innocent people suffer in this life along with the wicked. The book of job is dedicated to discussing this question and to my surprise it is actually entertaining. The remainder of these notes is adapted from the sermon manuscripts for job. The book of job, one of the wisdom books of the bible, deals with two issues crucial to every person. Jan 08, 20 but the prophet jeremiah offers a view in which the nation is not held accountable for the actions of a few or even many. And god will help them, although sometimes they must be patient. Job is an easy candidate for the old testaments most. In the third ill describe the traditional christian defences of god. First, he uses pain and suffering to draw us to himself so that we will cling to him. May 16, 2016 the book of job tells us that the righteous and innocent may suffer terribly, and that adverse circumstances do not necessarily witness to an individuals moral corruption.
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