Analysis Of The Book ' Job, The Idea Of Sin And Suffering '

The view of fate the book of Job expresses, though similar in that it originates from God, differs in a few important ways. In Job, situations are predetermined to occur, but the personal choices of the people involved determine the outcome of the situation. The story of Job opens with Job's fate of suffering being planned. Satan presents himself in an audience before God. God makes example of Job, and Satan rebuffs, stating that Job's constancy is only because of God's preferential treatment. Satan tells God, "But put forth thy hand now and touch all he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face."(40). In response, power is given to Satan to torment Job as a test. Job's life and finally health are viciously mangled and destroyed by Satan. Though Job does not know the reasons behind his great suffering, we are told that "In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."(41), and "In all this did not Job sin with his lips."(41). Self-pity creeps into Job's thoughts and words, but there is no disenchanted turn from God. Instead in Job the reader sees a turn to God for relief and

It has been said that pain is inevitable but suffering is optional. But is it? When looking at extraordinary pieces of literature such as the biblical Book of Job and the Epic of Gilgamesh, describing such physical and emotional pain and the mental and spiritual suffering that the main characters endured, it tells us that their suffering was just as inevitable as their pain. However, the two men dealt very differently with the tragedies lived and their consequences; and that made all the difference in their trajectory. What differentiated their suffering was the simple fact of being able to accept their humanity. In a world controlled by gods and goddesses, humans, regardless

The theme of the Book of Job is the perseverance of the human spirit. Job loses everything but he does not lose his faith in God. “Job refuses to curse God” (Book). Job has not done anything to deserve this, but it is a test from God and Satan to see if Job is actually as

In his novel Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury directly references to the Bible, specifically the books of Ecclesiastes and Job, to enhance the theme of the plot line with the similar messages being brought out by these two works of literature. It is important that the book Montag memorized partially was the Book of Ecclesiastes because of the powerful impact its message could have on society. Granger says to Montag, “‘You are the Book of Ecclesiastes’” (144). The message in the Book of Ecclesiastes focuses on how people should not focus on worldly possessions, and if they do, they will end up feeling empty and unhappy. The society created by Bradbury in the novel is only pleased with immediate responses that will end up leaving them feeling empty, just as the words of Ecclesiastes could

Carl Deuker was born in San Franscisco on August 26, 1950. He was raised in Redwood City, California. He is the son of Jack Deuker and Marie Milligan Deuker. He attended the University of California, Berkeley majoring in English. He describes himself as a classic second-stringer who wasn’t very athletic. Carl is currently teaching junior high English and physical science in Northshore School District outside of Seattle. He is also, the author of Heart of a Champion, Night Hoops, Painting the Black, High Heat, Runner, and Swagger. On the Devil’s Court was a YA book of the year in South Carolina.

The Book of Job is of wisdom genre. Job was a righteous, rich man. God and Satan have a confrontation regarding Job’s faith in God. God allows Satan to test Job by taking away his family, sheep, camels, and servants. Job was passed the test. Job was tested again. This time it was his health that was taken away. Job speaks to his three friends and curses the day he was born. The four of them have a lengthy conversation as to why Job is being punished. Elihu enters the conversation and becomes somewhat angry with Job’s lack of faith in God. God speaks to Job in question form. Job repents. God speaks the three friends and advises them to sacrifice a burnt offering. Job was them made prosperous and was “given twice as much as he had before” by God.

As we have seen, God promises a blessing to those who trust in His word and strive to live by it. Christians do not want to miss out on God’s blessing, especially those waiting for Him to reveal something. Now reading any book of the Bible, even Job, one begins to understand that God will bless you as you strive to study and practice His way of life. The Bible prophetically warns of even more pain in many different forms then what is done here Job, and through this we begin to portray God in a different light (Janzen 2012). However, the book of Job reveals God’s level of intervention during such a violent time. Due to the context and dire situation it would be difficult to imagine anything more then the pain for the members of Job’s family and the community at that time. They needed encouragement and the assurance that the trials Job faced would soon be over. The evil powers of Satan that governed Job’s life for a moment would be destroyed, and a triumphant sense of peace would be reestablished. The message of Job was intended for those in a particular time and circumstances of pain. Christians familiar with other violent writings would understand the book's symbolism, for practically everything Job went through was a test that other biblical figures felt during similar times of persecution. Job’s story was written to all people that may face the same trials, and find peace after their

Suffering has been described as, to undergo or to feel pain or to sustain injury or loss. When the lives of Gilgamesh, Enkidu and Job are placed one a comparative level, clearly on can see that they all suffered some loss or pain. When one examines further their loss or pain, evidently their suffering is placed on different levels as they differ in their intensity even though their suffering share some of the same characteristics. Therefore it can be argued that Gilgamesh, Enkidu and Job all suffered but the result Gilgamesh and Enkidu's sufferings were self-inflicted by a self serving quest to obtain glory, honour and immortality whereas Job's suffering was inflicted upon him by Satan with the permission God to prove a point that Job, no

Each character in The Book of Job was given a specific role. The main hero is Job with his rich but complex nature. As one can deduce from the name of the book, he plays the most important part. His wife, even though appearing rarely, also has an essential role of showing the readers the opposite of her husband. The authors structured her in a way that readers can compare two spouses’ personalities and ponder which one had a better reaction on the book events. After all the tragedies, happened to the family, Job’s wife chose to abuse God and commit suicide. Her behavior proves readers that her faith in God largely depended on the gifts, He was providing. She showed us an example of a person, who Satan was speaking about on the heaven council. Job with his behavior, which is the opposite to his wife, only verifies his faith in God. He refuses to listen to his wife and insists that he have done nothing to deserve the sufferings.

““There are some who say we are not truly human until we have suffered” 1 as said by Katharine Dell. There is also a though throughout the bible that God makes us suffer for our wrongdoings and past offenses. If this is so, then the protagonist of the Book of Job put both of these thoughts to the test while remaining faithful to God. Similarly to Job in “John” chapter nine, Jesus’ disciples question him in regards to human suffering and punishment from God. The idea of punishing a child for their parents sins is an over arching idea in the bible that acts as an explanation to why human suffer. Throughout the Biblical book of Job, despite Job’s friends’ belief of his wrongdoing, Job remains faithful while searching for a reason for his

The Plague and the Book of Jobs How there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. The LORD said to Satan, "Whence have you come?" Satan answered the LORD, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it." And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?" Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nought? Hast thou not put a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth thy hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse thee to thy face." And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon himself do not put forth your hand." (Source: Chapter 1, 6-12, http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/RsvBJob.html) The report is geared towards establishing the presence of hope in the face of extreme suffering. The report argues that suffering should be seen as more of a means to correct one’s flaws and develop fully than to be seen as something negative. My support is therefore for the way of life adopted by the doctor in Albert Camus’ book, The Plague. The report will first present a brief outline of the two stories and then put forward their similarities and differences. Finally the report

As I was reading the book American Literature by Nina Baym, there was a story that caught my attention. This story is based on how a pastor tries to persuade his congregation from the sins and make them be fearful of the divine wrath of God. I personally can relate to this story because of my religion. I am Pentecostal and I can see why Edwards would use such words towards his congregation so that they won’t perish and go to hell. My Pastor uses similar approaches like this when she preaches. In “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Edwards uses frightening words and religious metaphors to divert people from the congregation from the sins and condemning them to hell if they provoke the wrath of God and to establish that everyone should be fearful of him.

The similarities between religions continue to spark the interest of scholars today, especially those in the Christian community. C.S. Lewis, in the book God In The Dock, recognizes and fully accepts the similarities, but offers a new approach to the situation:

Butler addresses Hell, judgment, and Holy War in three separate, distinct parts of the book. To begin “Part 1: The Mercy of Hell,” Butler tells a short, fictional anecdote about a man questioning his faith because Hell makes God appear sadistic and not good. The anecdote is one of the many conceptions about Hell that Butler later addresses. Part 1 then begins with “Chapter 1: Heaven and Earth.” Butler writes that many people have a me-centered story that focuses on their actions determining God’s place for them in the afterlife; however, this story fails to focus on God.

      The concepts of suffering addressed in "The Book of Job" have no relevance to the ideas of suffering expressed in eastern religions such as Buddhism and Jainism. In fact, for Buddhists, the cause of suffering was discovered some 2,500 years ago by a prince from India named Sidhartha Gautama. This man, who was known as the Buddha, taught that suffering was caused by the craving for material things; ergo, cessation from suffering could be attained by detaching oneself from the things of this world (Ianuale). Had Job been exposed to these strictly eastern concepts of suffering, his outlook on his vicissitudes would have been quite different indeed.