This week was focus around wisdom. I was surprised to discover the many sub genres within Biblical Wisdom literature. We read in Bandstra, Proverbs and Job: The Wisdom of Israel:
- Nature wisdom is based on observations of the real world that enable humankind to understand and coexist in harmony with it.
2. Practical wisdom analyzed the social order, modern analogues being sociology and psychology.
3. Judicial wisdom sought ways to adjudicate disputes .
4. Theological wisdom, sometimes called speculative wisdom, sought answers to deeply puzzling issues such as the explanation for human suffering and God’s role in upholding justice among humankind. Crenshaw attributes this type of wisdom to professional scribes.
Another element of our week was a listening to an episodes of "The Professional Left". We only listened to a short segment of the 270 episode, and it was focused on Job. It is always great to hear multiple perspectives, especially when analyzing literature from the Bible. We are so limited by our own perceptions.
I could appreciate some of the statements and perceptions of the speakers, however I did see some instances where there analysis could have been deeper and some factors they completely left out of their discussion all together. One important element for me was the discussion on the Guinea worm. The Guinea worm is a parasite passed through larva in unclean drinking water. There are two ways to approach the issue of this illness.
- "God- why on earth would you create a worm that could do such horrible things and cause so much grief and pain?!"
- As said by the hosts of the Professional Left: "Steven Fry [decided] to b*tch about God" President Jimmy Carter got out and distributed filtered straws to help prevent people from being infected.
I really appreciated this analysis from the show's hosts. This indirectly address the role Job's friends played in his suffering. I understand he was mourning, but was anyone in the story trying to physically help him? or just verbally? When you look at the list of sufferings Job faced, it is hard for me to grasp how he continued to go on at all. God didn't just "take away his toys" Job's family were caught in the cross fire of this "deal" with the accuser.
Which brings me to my next point, the hosts referred to the interaction between God and the accuser as a "bet" against Job, which I find a horrible mis-use of the word. My classmate does a great job of explaining this on his blog. The hosts also refer to the accuser as the devil, which is counted as an incorrect identification in Barry Bandstra's book. The accuser or Ha-satan is not necessarily identified by the scripture as "the devil". The word "satan" is not capitalized because it is not a title, but a term to mean "the adversary" or "the accuser"
I enjoyed the different perspective and I agree with some of their points about justice and bullying. I think important elements left untouched by the hosts of the show are Job's friends. These friends fill out many pages in the book of Job, but are left purposeless in this discussion. I also think the original purpose of the writing is important! Is it intended as a story to teach a type of wisdom from our list above? Possibly teach us about the human condition and the issues and challenges all humans experience when faced with challenges? I think it is more likely that that is the case than that Job is a story about defining God's character. As we find out in Job, we can't possibly comprehend the purpose and will of God. Is that a satisfactory answer for why good people suffer or why bad things happen to those who do good? No, probably not.
