The people on the show talked about an incident in Ireland where Stephen Fry was charged with blasphemy. I was a bit fuzzy on what actually happened, but based on what I can infer from the podcast, Stephen Fry was asked what he would say to God at the pearly gates. Fry responded with, "Why would you let children suffer?"
The hosts of the show said this is the classic Job question. Why does God let good people suffer? The hosts gave a brief synopsis of the book of Job as well. Here are my notes about what they said:
Lesson of Job, the inner life is too important to be represented by a lifestyle. Job had all of the things, and God took it all away. It was all a bet with the devil. Devil says, "If you take away all of the good sh!t, he won't love you anymore." Job was the other righteous man in the bible. He made good and lived up to the rules. God kills his family, on a bet. Punishing and punishing, even after God promised not to do that if you follow the rules. Job isn't patient, he calls God on it and God gives Job new family and new things. The best man being tested for fun because God is bored. God will bash your teeth out like a gangster.
It was an interesting podcast. Some of it was correct, some of if was not.
The Book of Job is a part of the wisdom literature in the Hebrew Bible. According to the chapter on Proverbs and Job by Bandstra, wisdom literature "functioned as textbooks for those who were teaching and learning how to manage life: how to think, how to cope, how to succeed." This genre of literature was popular not just with the Hebrew people, but the people of Mesopotamia and of Egypt also sought to discern how best to live in cooperation with God (or gods). In this way, Bandastra says, "The goal of wisdom’s search is to discern this order—to think God’s thoughts after him— and then to design ways that human beings can align themselves with this order. The wise person is the one who discerns this order and lives in conformity with it."
We can easily see this in the book of Proverbs:
Don’t accuse anyone without reason, when they haven’t harmed you.Don’t envy violent people
or choose any of their ways.
Devious people are detestable to the Lord,
but the virtuous are his close friends.
The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked,
but he blesses the home of the righteous.
He mocks mockers,
but he shows favor to the humble.
The wise gain respect,
but fools receive shame. (3: 30-35)
This isn't as easily seen in the Book of Job. In fact, the podcast crew was right: Job is a righteous man following all of the commandments of God (using the wisdom of his society) and bad things still happen. The Book of Job looks at the proverbial wisdom, this retribution theology, and says, "But that doesn't work in every situation."
The book does describe a heavenly council where the satan (not the devil... this is a title given to the accuser, or in modern American colloquial "playing the devil's advocate") suggests that Job is only righteous because he has been blessed by God. God, taking the bait, kills all of Job's animals, servants, children, and wife. God gives Job horrible illnesses. It is not pretty. Job's friends show up, and Job begins to lament. He has lost everything. Why has God done this? Why is Job alive? Who hasn't felt this way?
Job's friends offer up suggestions: Job, you must have done something wrong. Job, God must be correcting you. They use all of the conventional wisdom they have. They turn to the retribution theology that works most of the time: Good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people. They want him to shut up and admit that this is true. God forbid life doesn't work this black and white way. Job fights back. Job really is confused how all of these horrible things have happened. He really has done all he is supposed to do.
After 37 chapters of narrative, God shows up in 38 and responds to Job. God doesn't answer Job, but belittles him, "Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations?" #micdrop. God restores what Job has lost, giving Job a new family and new servants and new animals. (Really, though? I agree with the podcasters, what about Job's originally family? We know that this can't actually replace all of what Job has lost.) "Although Job was reduced to humble acceptance of the power of God, he was vindicated and told to pray for his three friends who were in the wrong."
In the end the book of Job validates some of the proverbial wisdom that this society had grown to operate under, but also reveals the deep questions so many of us have, "Why do bad things happen?" There is no real answer given, but this quote from the Bandastra reading sums it all up nicely, "The body of wisdom literature attests to a lively theological tradition of dialogue and development within the Hebrew Bible. Upon examination, the wisdom literature reveals a spiritual and intellectual tradition within Israel that was not afraid to ask bold and ultimate questions, that tried to make sense out of the diversity of evidences, and that resisted dogmatism in favor of intellectual honesty."
P.S. I enjoyed this quote from the podcast. I tend to agree. "If you are serving at a soup kitchen, I don't give a sh!t what you believe."
