AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF JOB (Part II)

Theological Bites

Let’s now turn to the theological communication in the book of Job. In case you missed part 1, you can read it here.

The book of Job, as I pointed out earlier, is the oldest of all the Biblical books. By oldest, I do not intend it is the oldest in written form but rather the thoughts conveyed in the books existed orally long before they were documented. I also warned my readers that it is one of the most difficult books in the Bible. In fact, according to me, it ranks first and the book of Romans ranks second.

The ideas in the book existed in the Mesopotamia civilization long before even the Habirus evolved into what we know as the Hebrews today. The man Job lived a righteous life which was commended not just by his world but also by the gods themselves. What Job enjoyed raised no problem at all, since all he enjoyed was in relation with his ways of life and living. What he suffered, however, stirred controversy in the hearts of the people around his world.

While the theological question was, why would such a righteous man like Job suffer in this manner? The philosophical question was, how do suffering and pain fit into life? The book of Job, therefore, is first a philosophical book and then a theological book.

Let’s say a few things about the philosophical content of the book.

Philosophy is the practice of thinking about the great questions of life. Many years before there was anything like the Bible, humanity had already started grappling with the big questions of life. Questions like, where did we come from? What came first (egg and chicken)? Why are we here? What is wrong with us? Why is it wrong? etc.

The story of the man Job was shared in most ancient cultures and his experience was used to philosophize about the issues of Pain and Suffering.

The experiences of Job led many in the then world to start observing the ‘Problem of Pain’. Is Pain and Suffering part of life and therefore, fighting to resolve it is contrary to life or? Philosophically, what we know as Pain and Suffering are amoral principles. A fractured bone cannot have bad manners and neither can it be put to order unless what is orderly and disorderly is established.

For suffering and pain to have any significance whatsoever to morality, one’s philosophy must have concluded that the there are two sides in life, one of ‘Right and the other of Wrong’. If one’s philosophical thinking does not conclude that there is what is ‘Right’ and what is ‘Wrong’, then Pain and Suffering need not attract our attention for it becomes part of life and living. The story of Job can only make sense if we consciously or subconsciously and philosophically believe that something wrong or right happened.

Under the conclusion that ‘what is right’ and ‘what is wrong’ is either relative or actually part of life, none of us is justified to condemn acts of Genocide, Wars, Chemical weapons killings and many more engineered and programmed killings and pain inflicting practices in the world both in the past and in the present.

The story and experience of Job becomes redundant for it expresses the obvious and the order of the day. If the book of Job makes any philosophical sense, it is because the idea it addresses is on the wrong side of philosophy or the right thing is challenged. Nevertheless, if the success and suffering of Job were neither right nor wrong, then we have no business whatsoever to waste time on this book.

Another matter I would like to point you at here is that; Pain and Suffering are emotionally justified unless one’s philosophical mind has established that there is what is ‘Good’ and what is ‘Evil’. For if there is not what is good and there isn’t what is evil, then what happened to Job couldn’t be labelled but appreciated for what it is (whatever it was).

The reason am exhausting your thinking with philosophy is because the book we are face to face with addresses a very fundamental philosophical question of Pain and Suffering in this world. A random question of what the meaning of pain and suffering is will prove that there is some underlying inferential conclusion that there is what is right and what is wrong; there is what is good and what is evil.

For instance, Pain and Suffering can be defined as an unpleasant and often an anguishing experience, severely affecting a person at a psychophysical and existential level. The key words in this definition are: unpleasant and anguishing. We come to these terms based on whether we agree that there is what is right and what wrong and there is what is good and what is evil. Without these poles, all our conclusions are baseless and in space.

Right here, I have addressed two fundamental factors useful if we are to appreciate the book of Job:

The first is that; whether you believe in God or not, how you answer the question of pain and suffering will drag you to the point where you have to think seriously on the issue of right and wrong.

For one to conclude that something is right or wrong, there must be an absolute primary principle upon which everything is morally judged. Suffering and Pain is neither wrong nor right unless there is an uncaused and unchallenged standard.

Secondly, the book of Job philosophically demonstrates that Pain and Suffering are not products neither consequences of what we do as they are matters of our relationships with supra-human beings often called gods. We suffer because our emotional relations with the gods are fractured and we can only survive the pain and suffering only when this relationship is psychologically and practically fixed. This is what is addressed in Genesis chapters 2-3.

For philosophy to emotionally conclude that there is what is ‘Good’ and what is ‘Evil’, there must be an absolute and eternal Principal who is good as well as another that is naturally and permanently ‘Evil’. In Christianity God is Good, Satan is Evil – the two identities are not acquired but who each is.

Philosophically, if the gods are evil, then pain and suffering are good and in line with the powers, but if the gods (supra-human powers) are good, then suffering and pain are evil.

Our philosophical understanding of either of the principals, therefore, determines our psychophysical relations to pain and suffering.

Next, I will address the book of Job as a theological book and God being gracious a lot will come to light.

God bless you I invoke TRUTH, REASON and FAITH (2Tim 2:7)

Pr. T.I.M WHITE

The Gospel Hawker

@iTiS Well of Worship Fellowship (John 4:24)