August 20, 2020
I finished the Book of Job yesterday and while I don’t think I fully comprehend what was being said, I think it would be beneficial to talk about it. The book of Job is the first book of wisdom literature in the Christian bible and as such the themes and discussion are very complex. It seems that the main question that arises is the question “is God just?” or “Why do bad things happen to good people?”. It seems clear to me that the Book of Job is a well-constructed work of fiction, but one that addresses some deep philosophical and theological questions. At this moment in time though, I don’t think this is something I want to explore in detail, but I’m sure it will be worth exploring at a later date. Looking at the Book of Job Wikipedia Page it seems that there are several books and movies/plays that draw inspiration from this story/question. I can imagine that if I ever start to explore this topic in detail, it would be worth exploring these works that have been inspired by this story. The books from the Wikipedia page are Samson Agonistes by John Milton, The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Doblin, The Trial by Franz Kafka, Answer to Job by Carl Jung, and Job by Joseph Roth. The movies are A Serious Man, The Tree of Life, Fiddler on the Roof, and Leviathan. Another set of Books comes from this Psychology Today article: Finding Purpose in a Godless World: Why We Care Even If The Universe Doesn’t by Ralph Lewis, Dreams of a Final Theory by Steven Weinberg, and When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold Kushner. Other books that I’ve seen are Moral Reflections on the Book of Job by Gregory the Great, The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis, and The Answer of Jesus to Job by G. Campbell Morgan. Another thing that seems relevant to asking within the context of the story is something that Stephen Fry pointed out in this YouTube video. His main question is that why should we worship a God that has created a world in which there is so much misery. I suppose this is somewhat addressed in the Book of Job, but not really. It seems the main takeaway from the Book of Job is that it is wrong to assume that God rewards or punishes people because of their piety or impiety and that God is governing a vast universe of things and that bad things happen to good people just because and to question God is ignorant. On top of that, we should worship God because he is despite the pain and misery we suffer in our lives. I’m sure I’m missing a lot of the finer points in the story which would certainly warrant a thorough study of the topic. As I explore what I believe in with regards to religion and faith though, I think the question I want to explore is “does God need to exist for the book/story of Job to be relevant?”. I can think that if I was believed with my whole heart that God existed and should be worshipped, I’d have a very difficult time reconciling what happens in the world with the way God is described in the Book of Job. I keep thinking about the Sandy Hook Massacre for some reason and what I can’t get out of my head is a generic response based on my present interpretation of the Book of Job that God works in mysterious ways. What seems irreconcilable is the response that Job had to have his family and possessions taken away from him:
He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!”
Job 1:21, NLT
If I was a parent of one of the Sandy Hook children and even if I was deeply religious, I’d doubt my response would be to “praise the name of the Lord”. That’s what I think is irreconcilable for me. However, if God is not punishing the parents or children but rather providing a lesson like that which is discussed in the Book of Job, I think I can get behind that a bit more although if the lesson is that we should have better gun control laws, then it seems to be falling on deaf ears especially among Christians who support the 2nd Amendment. I think one of the issues that I have with religion is the varieties of conflicting interpretations that can be had with the sacred texts and the use of those interpretations to justify certain actions and behaviors. I’ve seen it said that a person brings their values with them when reading the Bible and uses the Bible to justify those values. This seems true for people who are non-violent and care about their fellow man and those that wish to condemn their fellow man. Those that are anti-semitic or anti-gay and those that have no issue with either. Those that were pro-slavery and anti-slavery and even slaves themselves. I think it is arrogant of myself or anyone else to claim that I know exactly how the Bible should be interpreted. I want to end on a discussion of root cause analysis. Root cause analysis is a problem-solving method used to discover the root cause of problems that don’t have a simple answer. The way I use it in my life is that when looking at potential issues I keep asking why until I find something that seems like a satisfactory answer. A basic example is this: I’m tired, why? Because I’m not getting enough sleep. Why am I not getting enough sleep? Because I go to bed late. Why do I go to bed late? Because I drink coffee before I go to bed. Why do I drink coffee before I go to bed? Etc. The possible solution would likely involve not drinking coffee before going to bed, but it might be worth understanding why I was drinking coffee in the first place to resolve that issue. It can be a rabbit hole, but I’ve found that it is usually rooted in something psychological and that by changing certain behaviors, the top-level issue resolves itself. Taking this to a larger context you can ask “Why did the Sandy Hook Massacre happen?” and find the root causes of that tragedy and then by changing those root causes, it would likely keep a similar situation from happening in the future. I think it is important to do this as opposed to simply resigning events to the notion that “God works in mysterious ways” and then doing nothing about it. I am expecting that I will be employing some root cause analysis for some things I’m interested in exploring with regards to politics, but that might not be for a while. In conclusion, I’ve found myself in the first of the wisdom literature of the Bible and I can foresee taking a deep dive if I were to explore it further which is something I don’t want to do at this moment in time, but I have organized some thoughts and questions that would be worth exploring whenever I come back to it.