The Unpredictable Way of Life: A Serious Man Essay

If God is powerful and loving the humankind, then why does He permit evil as well as suffering in this world? Various answers had been offered by many Christian philosophers and many victims of suffering, but there was not a lucid answer that could settle this argument permanently. God uses malicious acts of this world to rise up His own people and remind them that there is an opportunity that they can posses their eternal life. Literature, especially biblical literature has exploited this biblical nature to its fullest in various types of forms, including the play J.B. by Archibald MacLeish. In the play J.B, Archibald MacLeish reanimates and modernizes elements taken from the story of Job to come up with his own response to the ultimate

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

Francis always did what Larry told him to do and never disobey him. Larry’s has power over Francis, he can actually make Francis feel tired by saying he looks it, this shows Francis believe in his word, E.g if he looks tired then he must be tried. Larry is arrogant, he is confident that he will never get caught for his evil and unheroic acts. “He was at the door, a shadow now, turning the knob, whistling a tune… whistling softly as he stepped through the doorway…” shows Larry’s calm behaviour as he leaving the Wreck Centre after raping Nicole suggests that he is very confident that she will not report him, or that even if she does, nobody will believe her because he is a

This also makes him have suicidal thoughts. Larry’s two favorite student of the Wreck Center now hate him because of his obsession. He tries to make up for his sins by going to war and creating the Wreck Center; but, no one can forgive Larry for the horrid things that he has done. Especially Nicole and Francis.

when he announces his plan, at a party of all places, Larry positions himself at the

What are really God’s intentions allowing abominably dreadful things to occur on this Earth on a daily basis? There could be a mass shooting one day and the death of a child another. Does he do this to show us his many capabilities or is it even his decision? The book Night by Eliezer Wiesel is a great example of this. If God knows everything before it happens, why did he allow the Holocaust take place?

Most "bad" things which happen do so because God gives a radical freedom to God's people; we are free people, not puppets on a string. But God does not cause "bad" things to happen. God loves us and grieves with us in our pain when "bad things" happen.

Larry is ashamed of his current financial state after seeing the luxuries Andy Heller, someone he once felt superior to, could afford. His perspective on his success in life changes when he realizes the effects of money. Before the pivotal moment of discovery, Kramer was proud of his

However, despite the glorious rumours of his past being a star, Francis tells us that “we knew little about him, however, and he discouraged questions.” This makes the reader suspicious, and hints that Larry may be concealing his past. The fact that he “discouraged” questions suggests that Larry is a secretive man, enhancing the suspicion. Francis then asks the question “why did he turn his back on show business and return to Frenchtown?” This suggests that Francis does not know why Larry returned, therefore showing that he is still a mysterious character in the present day, and that Francis still has questions. Francis notes that “no one dared to ask him,” which could mean that the children were possibly too scared to ask, or perhaps did not want to know the answer. He also refers to the fact that there were “dark hints” that he had “gotten into trouble.” This foreshadows future events of the novel, and makes the reader wary of his

Racial hatred is prejudice and hostility targeting groups of color or ethnic backgrounds in various ways. “Night” by Elie Wiesel is a story about the author's experience during the Holocaust and how he survived through the harsh treatment of the concentration camps. Paul Rusesabagina’s “From An Ordinary Man” is about how the author saved many people from an ongoing tribe attack by putting them in his hotel. In Elie Wiesel’s “Night”and Paul Rusesabagina's “From An Ordinary Man”, both the author's use of overall purpose, theme, and use of rhetoric help tell the stories of survivors.

““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

In stark contrast to God’s presence in Genesis, the character of God in Job strays from the ideal perfection of the divine. The concept of the ideal manifested in Genesis is embodied in God’s moral, reasonable, and rational behavior. In Job, on the other hand, rather than being reasonable, methodical, and creating life, God displays more human characteristics and plays the role of both creator and destroyer. The book of Job begins with God’s boastful bargain with Satan, which subsequently leads God to allow the total destruction of Job’s family and livelihood. Job is even attacked physically with “loathsome sores… from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head” (Job 2:7). In an uncharacteristically immoral decision, God gives Satan the power do

Why does God allow Satan to cause such tragedy in Job’s life, a man whom God has already acknowledged as “my servant Job, that there is none like on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”(1.8) From the beginning, it is known that Job is in no way deserving of his injustices, so a reason must be given. God gives Job an opportunity to prove that under any circumstances Job will still have faith. This simply a test for Job. The whole Book is a “double” journey for Job -- he shows God his faith and realizes the faith God has that Job will not stray from his path. Job knows deep down that God has not forsaken him.

The depiction of God in the Bible’s story of creation, namely Genesis, brings to mind the image of an omnipotent, almighty and all-powerful child playing in a sandbox. Like a child his sole purpose seems to be to simply amuse himself, and possibly acquire a source of unconditional love. These needs are in contrast to the classic view of God acting with the idea of an ultimate plan. His actions clearly show that there is no perfect plan, or if there is it must be grossly overcomplicated. Consistently God makes poor decisions, and then eventually acts to fix the situation. The whole scenario conjures up an image of the crew of Apollo 13, alternately breaking things and then patching it together

Alas, poor Job is left to ponder why such misfortunes were heaped upon him, for God never really answers this question. Moreover, throughout history, people have been pondering the very same question. Many books and essays have been written on "The Book of Job" in an attempt to try to explain the cause of suffering, but the theories that have been extracted have had primarily western theological overtones.