A common theme in Abrahamic religions is the test of faith through trials and tribulations which typically take the form of mankind's hardships. It was widely believed that under a just god such as Yahweh, suffering itself was purely consequential of some kind of wrongdoing. Therefore, the delivery of rewards and punishments was thought to be in strict agreement with what people merited. The author's purpose seems to be none other than to challenge this ideal. He constructs the story of a man named Job, a righteous man who suffers in order for God to prove to Satan that His servant does not live by faith for selfish reasons. The book of Job covers the complexity of the role of suffering in life, but does not present a clear solution as to why …show more content…
When God initially speaks, Job goes silent. The divine voice does not answer Job’s complaints directly, but instead describes the marvels of creation, pointing to natural occurrences that surpass the limits of human understanding. God’s speeches contrast Job's weakness with deific understanding and omnipotence: "Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations? (38:4)" God nears the end of his speech in chapter 40, challenging Job’s belief that he is guilty or innocent, by establishing that he is instead powerless and ignorant. “Have you an arm like God’s arm; can you thunder with a voice like his? (40:9-10)” God challenges Job, knowing Job recognizes the answer is no. As this is the case, how can Job claim to understand the workings of God? “Look on all who are proud, and bring them low, crush the wicked where they stand; bury them in the earth together, and shroud them in an unknown grave. Then I in turn would acknowledge that your own right hand could save you. (40:12-14)” The questions and challenges God issues to Job are all rhetorical, done purely to make the point that God is not on the same plain of life as a human, and therefore man, who has an entirely mortal perspective, cannot rightfully judge His
Satan unleashes a force that kills Job’s children, servants, and destroys his home. Job does not falter his belief in god because of these tragedies. Satan again tries to challenge Job’s faith in god, by giving him physical aliments. Job’s
This quarter in IGE 121- Rationalism, Revelation, and Enlightenment: The Ancient World there has been a lot of material covering death, suffering, fate, destiny, and good and evil. Three out of the many readings that cover death and suffering would be “Book of Matthew” and “Antigone” and “Book of Job”. A reading of this quarter that reveals suffering would be “Prometheus Bound” and “Book of Matthew”. An additional text that disclose one of themes is the Mayan book “Popol Vuh”. People often ask what the reasons are on why good people have to suffer.
In the work of The Bhagavad-gītā and the work of Job both the main protagonists of each work, Arjuna and Job, seek guidance and wisdom from their respective gods. Arjuna seek for guidance from Krishna during the war and job from his god for why he has been suffering. Each god from the works responds to their person but each respond in a different way. In the work, Bhagavad-gītā Krishna gives Arjuna a straight forward answer. On the other hand, the god in the work Job does not.
Rowlandson frequently alludes to the book of Job- drawing a parallel between herself and the perfect Christian martyr. By describing her captors in association with Hell, she casts them as, not only, enemies of the Puritans, but enemies of God as well. Rowlandson does suffer the wrath of her mistress; however, she is met with much kindness from other Natives. For example, she is even given a Bible by one of her “savage” captors (Rowlandson 263). She is offered food by many other Natives (Rowlandson 269).
Jonathan Edwards depicts God as a wrathful, harsh and aggressive deity. His sermon emphasizes on the importance of salvation and remorse. Reflecting Puritan ideals, he expresses Gods vision of humans. How people are instinctive sinners and God is the only one able to determine those worthy of salvation. His stated principles construe the main pillar of their religion, predestination.
He still refers to Him as Almighty and recognizes His presence. Yet, he does question His righteousness and care for the Jewish people, when he questions why He would stay silent and why his fellow prisoners would worship Him. He explains his position, saying that “I had ceased to pray. I concurred with Job! I was not denying His existence, but I doubted His absolute justice” (45).
And if God is God, why is He letting us suffer?” (1) The lifelong quest for answers to these questions shaped his theology
Stump’s two constraints of suffering, argues Draper, could not be taken place automatically in human experience. There is a group of people who cannot be justified by the negative benefit of harm prevention since they are sufficiently far away from the process of sanctification, and from the treatment of permanent separation with God. There are also those who do not consent to suffer for the future benefit of deeper union with God . Moreover, it is quite difficult to know how God knows exactly the human reaction to situations of suffering before allowing
The Book of Job provides an example of how people should praise God by illustrating a blameless, responsible, and fearing man who will always turn away from evil. Therefore, this book presents the same man tortured by outside forces lacking the possibility to acquire help from family and friends. Throughout the reading in particular (14:11) demonstrates how there was a moment of weakness in which Job fails and ask for his death, but after all, he did not commit sin and endured waiting for his torment to banish. In addition, the book reveals how men turned against a man in need and instead judged him without understanding the sources causing his disgrace. However, the book provides a comparison in how humans behave by providing vivid examples of characters who showed behaviors illustrating how humanity functions.
To end the story a thunderstorm rolls in and Prometheus is left chained to the rock. The Book of Job is a story about a man who “feared God and turned away from evil” (Job 1:1, ESV). He was a very wealthy man who had ten children, many livestock, and many servants. Satan speaks to God one day and God gives him permission to test Job’s faith. Satan begins by taking away Job’s children, killing his livestock,
Job owns seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yokes of oxen, three daughters, seven sons, and a wife-in short, prosperity. In addition, he is a respectful and religious man who worships God and lives a chaste life. However, God chooses to test Job and sets a list of punishments for him, who undergoes these challenges throughout the book of Job. There is a certain contradiction in a deity that punishes those who obey, and the story emphasizes the omniscience of God’s unique role in Job’s life. God’s seemingly capricious nature demonstrates the usage of power by an omnipotent figure, in terms of beneficence, retributive justice, and exploitation.
I concurred with Job! I was not denying His existence, but I doubted His absolute justice” (45). Before his struggle, he was emotionally and spiritually connected to God and spent so much of his time studying the Jewish faith. In contrast, after he experienced living in a concentration camp he questioned God’s motives and no longer believed in absolute justice. He doesn’t believe in the same God he once did; before, he believed in a benevolent and kind father of humankind, he now can only believe in an apathetic and cold observer of the Jew’s
God is fully aware of the fall and the future of humanity. While He theoretically could
In the Bible, God is anthropomorphized and made to seem as though he were human. Anthropomorphism does cast human traits and characteristics onto unhuman things, but its goal is not mere labelization. In the Bible, anthropomorphic descriptions are typically mistaken as a way to convey that God is like us and is a man with a body. Such characterization is done not because God actually is a man, but rather, it is done to divulge spiritual truths about God that are normally beyond our level of understanding.
At the end of the 15th century, the play "Everyman" by an unknown author talks about the game of morality. The themes of this literature are: life is a pilgrimage; death is inevitable and medieval theology. It is not faith that will save Everyman, he needs learn to listen and knows what the difference is between what is salvation and condemnation. In today's day, many people struggle or experience death.