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Redefining Job and the Conundrum of Suffering
As a species, we are storytellers. Our best stories, those that endure for generations, are stories of trials and suffering and of surmounting the challenges set before us. The biblical Job is such a story, one that has become encrusted with centuries of interpretations. Redefining Job and the Conundrum of Suffering sets out to retell the story, to make “once upon a time” have meaning for us today.
The best way to break old patterns is to start from scratch. Redefining Job dissects the story, the history of interpretations, and the history of how humanity has dealt with suffering. As the story is rebuilt with different insights gained from research in biblical studies, humanities, and science, the message can be viewed in a fresh light. The author of Job lived at a time when knowledge was expanding and our perception of our place in the universe was changing. From this perspective, Job becomes a hero. No longer patiently waiting for some ambiguous answer, he is demanding something more of his Maker. “Before I heard, but now I see” becomes an affirmation that he grasped a new path to discovering why we suffer and how we should respond.
The best way to break old patterns is to start from scratch. Redefining Job dissects the story, the history of interpretations, and the history of how humanity has dealt with suffering. As the story is rebuilt with different insights gained from research in biblical studies, humanities, and science, the message can be viewed in a fresh light. The author of Job lived at a time when knowledge was expanding and our perception of our place in the universe was changing. From this perspective, Job becomes a hero. No longer patiently waiting for some ambiguous answer, he is demanding something more of his Maker. “Before I heard, but now I see” becomes an affirmation that he grasped a new path to discovering why we suffer and how we should respond.
298 pages, Paperback
Published June 11, 2020
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October 5, 2020
This book is a must-read that presents a unique perspective on human suffering that is simultaneously broad based and finely focused. Victoria Adams addresses head on the extensive amount of undeserved suffering in our own time by bringing to life multiple points of wisdom from disparate cultures, religions, and eras. After exploring different theories about whether Job was an actual person, which era the events are set in, who the author is, and when the story was written, Adams applies historical scholarship to determining the influences on the author and why the book of Job was written in the first place.
Be prepared for a rigorous and delightful scholarly journey powered by luminaries from the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths, as well as non-Abrahamic perspectives from Hinduism, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism, plus analyses from ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Babylonian sources. The similarities of perception over the ages, as well as the fundamental disagreements among great minds, make for a fascinating read, especially about a topic as otherwise depressing as the story of Job. From that Adams presents clear eyed optimism.
In our own age when we face a combined threat of pandemic, economic insecurity, cruel oppression of disfavored peoples, and cultural upheaval, grappling with the dilemma of undeserved suffering is directly relevant to everyone's experience. In this book, Adams illustrates how the book of Job delivers a profound rebuke to blame-the-victim ideology—and comfort for those who are suffering.
Be prepared for a rigorous and delightful scholarly journey powered by luminaries from the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths, as well as non-Abrahamic perspectives from Hinduism, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism, plus analyses from ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Babylonian sources. The similarities of perception over the ages, as well as the fundamental disagreements among great minds, make for a fascinating read, especially about a topic as otherwise depressing as the story of Job. From that Adams presents clear eyed optimism.
In our own age when we face a combined threat of pandemic, economic insecurity, cruel oppression of disfavored peoples, and cultural upheaval, grappling with the dilemma of undeserved suffering is directly relevant to everyone's experience. In this book, Adams illustrates how the book of Job delivers a profound rebuke to blame-the-victim ideology—and comfort for those who are suffering.
Displaying 1 of 1 review