Originally posted by TheSkipper
Ok...but what was Job's sin? What did Abraham do that was so bad that God needed to convince him that he needs to sacrifice his own son; only to then tell him it was all a big mind game?
If god stuck to killing evil people I could buy your story but it seems he liked to screw around with people that were trying to honestly do their best. It is a litt both Job and satan come off looking much better than God...at least in my view.
TheSkipper
Ok...but what was Job's sin?
Job didn’t sin; that’s part of the point—or rather the question—of the story. This is the original “When Bad Things Happen to Good People” text. Nor is there anything about “original sin” (or sin-nature), as this is not a Jewish concept.
Job: 1:1—A man was in the land of Uz, Job his name, the man himself perfect [Hebrew:
tam, whole, complete, having complete integrity] and upright; who held God in awe and turned aside from evil.* [my translation]
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All throughout the story, Job maintains his innocence against the arguments of three “friends”—
The following are a few brief commentaries by rabbis on the general thrust of the friends’ arguments (from the Stone Tanach):
Eliphaz: “He contends that suffering is not haphazard. Rather than railing about his fate, Job should examine his deeds and try to discover why God punished him,” i.e., Job must have sinned even if he doesn’t know it.
Bildad: Job should just repent. “If [he] would repent, the blessings [God] would bestow upon [him] would overshadow even those of the past.” (Ramban) In 18:4, “Addressing Job, Bildad asks sarcastically whether Job expects God (‘the Rock&rsquo😉 and the world to change as a consequence of his complaints.” (Rashi)
Zophar: “Zophar berates Job for thinking himself ‘virtuous in God’s eyes,’ since no mortal can fathom God’s doctrine. If all were known, Job would realize that he deserved to be punished even more.”
The “friends” make several more accusations and arguments against job as the narrative proceeds. Then the young Elihu speaks; his basic argument is: “God inflicts illness to make the victim consider his mortality and mend his ways, thereby saving his life in the process.” (Rashi) Also: “God is not responsible to a Higher Authority and has no need to pervert justice to destroy a man. Why should God deal with man unjustly? He could simply take back the soul that He granted man.” (Rashi) And: “Everything that He has brought upon [Job] is with a precise, deliberate purpose.” (Ramban) “Elihu pleads with Job to submit to God’s judgment and stop blaming Him for his plight.” (Metzudos)
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God’s answer to Job is basically that Job does not know enough to question God—
Job 38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind: 2 "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me 4 "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. (NRSV)
That is really all the answer Job gets, and Job submits to it. God rebukes the others for not having “spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” (42:7, NRSV)
Since I take a monistic viewpoint on all this, my only conclusion can be:
“Why do bad things happen to good people?”
“I don’t know. That’s just the way it is. I’ll take my portion of life as a blessing anyway—e.g., like Camus, I choose to live, and to live with awe and passion, in the face of the apparent absurdities of existence, rather than commit suicide.”
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* “The Talmud cites no less than eight opinions about when Job lived, ranging from that of the time of Jacob to that of the Babylonian exiles’ return to the Holy Land. There is also an opinion that Job did not actually exist at all, and the story is a parable.” (The Stone Edition Tanach, Mesorah Publications, 1996; this is an Orthodox Jewish Hebrew/English version.)
17 Feb '06 17:01
An Honest Question
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