A major difficulty in understanding the meaning of the book is, what insight leads job to submit so humbly to god at the end. Shes going to talk in the first session on the theodicy of the book of job. The book of job, in my view, is widely misunderstood it is the classic book. Throughout human intellectual history, this question of random and rampant suffering, technically known as the problem of evil, has remained the most potent and sustained argument for the nonexistence of god. The normal analysis of the exile was that israel thoroughly deserved it. A comparative and critical analysis of the story of job as.
Theodicy and the book of job the cambridge orthodox. This account of evil takes the book of job as its guide. Job is a righteous, pious, and exceptionally blessed man. The book of job is the first time this question the question of the problem of evil. Job presents one of the most difficult problems in the bible, and while i dont proport to solve it here, i hope you enjoy my interpretation. That is because the problem of evil is the central point where philosophy. In this article, and with this overly long introduction, we will consider specifically what the book of job has to tell us about the problem of evil and suffering in relation to god.
For royce, the book of job represents the connection between particular kinds of. Job pronounced jobe, was a rich farmer living in the land of uz, somewhere northeast of palestine. In the plain meaning of the story then not only is jobs behavior not worse. Elihus description of god as creator and sustainer of the world prepares the way for god. The book of job a widely misunderstood book jeffrey radon.
Since the problem of evil is the greatest theological challenge christians face today, we will explore the meaning of theodicy in the book of job, christian theology, and also aim to help readers to form a christian response to the problem of evil. In fact, this is how the problem of evil is often defined. Job s final speech in his own defense is probably where the book originally ended. If we accept royces analysis of a problem, then we must accept his solution. The classic formulation of the philosophic problem of evil theodicy is. In the bible, the bestknown wrestling with the problem of suffering comes to us in the book of job. Lewis, god, freedom, and evil by alvin plantinga, a grief observed by c. The problem of job and the problem of evil by espen dahl. She has lectured in comparative religion in several universities. An analysis of the concepts of pollution and taboo. Metaphysical evil is a problem for theism because it may seem that a perfect god would create a perfect world, and so the fact that this world is not perfect shows that such a. Unlike the story ofdie fall, diere is no allegory whose meaning would. The book of job considers physical pain, social bereavement, the origin of evil, theodicy, justice, divine violence, and reward. An analysis of the book of job and the problem of evil.
How the book of job confronts the problem of suffering. An analysis of the book of job and the problem of evil at. 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. I attempt to clear that up by offering a different perspective than most people know today. The problem of evil is the source of much that is truly great in religious thought and literature, perhaps because it is a problem with.
The book ofjob takes up the issue of innocent suffering right from the start. In this article, and with this overly long introduction, we will consider specifically what the book of job has to tell us about the problem of evil and. Such problems are explored by consulting ancient and modern accounts from the fields of theology and philosophy, broadly conceived. It should be kept in mind that job is not the author.
The book of job is one of the most problematic portions of the bible and has called forth a variety of interpretations. The book of job has inspired much commentary about its presentation of the problem of evil, which is the question of how a god that is allegedly 1 allpowerful, 2 allgood, and 3 allknowing. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Popular problem of evil books goodreads share book. An analysis of the book of job and the problem of evil leightner, paul on.
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