Friday, April 13, 2007
God and Job
Blogging the Bible is this awesome blog that has a post on the Book of Job from the Old Testament.
It talks about the dichotomy between a God who moves from peevish ire over a wager with the devil to one who rewards Job's faithfulness to Him. David Plotz writes:
So when God humiliated Job, or heck, even when He initially agreed to test Job's faithfulness in a captious gambit, was it to learn of His true nature? What is the inherent nature of man whose likeness is of God?!? Is it one of hope or doubt? Or even worst, one of anger in the face of pain and anguish?!?
Something televangelist Joyce Meyer wrote about God came to HL's mind as she read the post. In one of her best-selling books, Meyer wrote that God had commanded her to not only forgive her sexually abusive father and weak mother who knew of the abuse but to thank both for all the good they had done for her in life. They gave her life, fed her, sent her to school and so on.
Yes, God wanted Joyce Myer to be grateful to her parents for giving her life; and by extension, to be grateful to God for her time on earth.
After all, God gives life and it's not beyond the realm of possibilities that if you're angry at your father for abusing you as a teen and forcing you to feign passion and if you're less than happy with a mother who knew of the abuse and did nothing, might you not also be a tad pissed off at God as well?!? Exactly as the devil bet Job would feel when he lost his money, family and health?!?
Why is faith to God so important?!? Is it because by our earthly decisions we fashion whether the spiritual realm becomes a vessel of love and glory and faith or a vessel of hatred at life's whim?!?
Howling Latina believes the answer to the meaning of life and God's existence lie in the words of this exceptional tale from the Old Testament.
It talks about the dichotomy between a God who moves from peevish ire over a wager with the devil to one who rewards Job's faithfulness to Him. David Plotz writes:
I confess that I'm flummoxed by Job. Should we believe Chapters 38 through 41, when God tells us we're nothing, and that we have no right to question Him? Or should we believe Chapter 42, when God acknowledges that Job was right and settles the lawsuit? The God of Chapters 38 through 41 is petulant, arrogant, and wrong. The God of Chapter 42 is willing to correct His mistake. Also the God of Chapter 42 admits that the three friends are wrong. By punishing them, He seems to be conceding that, in fact, the wicked aren't always punished and the good aren't always rewarded. But isn't such a concession impossible for God? If He disavows their arguments, isn't He saying He's impotent? That he doesn't actually reward the righteous and upbraid the wicked?Well, Howling Latina has always wondered if the little deal between God and the devil and the true nature of Job isn't really an allegory about an internal conversation that God had with Himself.
I'm troubled, I'm puzzled, I have more questions than answers—and that, I suppose, is why the Book of Job has been required reading for almost 3,000 years.
So when God humiliated Job, or heck, even when He initially agreed to test Job's faithfulness in a captious gambit, was it to learn of His true nature? What is the inherent nature of man whose likeness is of God?!? Is it one of hope or doubt? Or even worst, one of anger in the face of pain and anguish?!?
Something televangelist Joyce Meyer wrote about God came to HL's mind as she read the post. In one of her best-selling books, Meyer wrote that God had commanded her to not only forgive her sexually abusive father and weak mother who knew of the abuse but to thank both for all the good they had done for her in life. They gave her life, fed her, sent her to school and so on.
Yes, God wanted Joyce Myer to be grateful to her parents for giving her life; and by extension, to be grateful to God for her time on earth.
After all, God gives life and it's not beyond the realm of possibilities that if you're angry at your father for abusing you as a teen and forcing you to feign passion and if you're less than happy with a mother who knew of the abuse and did nothing, might you not also be a tad pissed off at God as well?!? Exactly as the devil bet Job would feel when he lost his money, family and health?!?
Why is faith to God so important?!? Is it because by our earthly decisions we fashion whether the spiritual realm becomes a vessel of love and glory and faith or a vessel of hatred at life's whim?!?
Howling Latina believes the answer to the meaning of life and God's existence lie in the words of this exceptional tale from the Old Testament.
// posted by Howling Latina @ 5:13 PM 
