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CVA Weekly Newsletter
October 3, 2012
- Book Notice
- Job and the Theodicy Problem, part 4
- This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman
1. Book Notice
Marilyn Peterson is the author of a new and helpful independently published book Vegan Bite By Bite. It's a book that not only tells of the health benefits of a vegan diet, but gives a step by step process to best transition readers to a plant based diet.
Vegan Bite By Bite has been garnering a number of positive reviews, and it was one of Amazon.com's Best Books of 2011-Editor's Pick for the Kindle. Both T. Colin Campbell Ph.D., author of The China Study, and John Robbins, author of Diet for a New America, have endorsed the book, saying it has answered one of the most asked questions of those looking into veganism: exactly how to make the dietary change. It also includes over 100 recipes of different vegan dishes to get someone started down the path.
To learn more, go to www.veganbitebybite.com
2. Job and the Theodicy Problem, part 4
In previous essays, I reviewed how Job, a blameless and righteous man, suffered the greatest of calamities, raising questions about God’s might and God’s goodness. Job demanded an explanation from God, and in today’s essay we’ll explore God’s response.
God, speaking “out of the whirlwind,” declares, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” (38:4) In a long speech, God declares God’s creative power and power over nature. Importantly, God does not address Job’s challenge to God’s justice; rather, God asserts God’s mightiness. Job cannot deny God’s power. God demands, “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.” Job responds, “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer thee? I lay my hand on my mouth” (40:2-4).
Job acknowledges that he is small and weak, and he does not respond to God’s challenge that he contend with God. However, God hasn’t answered Job’s challenge to God’s justice, either. This failure on God’s part is smoothed over in nearly all translations, which depict Job admitting error and recanting. In God: A Biography, Jack Miles notes how modern translations appear to have changed the meaning of Job’s crucial response in 42:1-6. In particular, Miles notes that the Hebrew is ambiguous where Job appears to recant, saying “therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” In particular, he asserts, the word “myself” is not supported by the original Hebrew text. He continues that translations describing Job’s “repentance” reflects Christian expectations that someone who has challenged God will ultimately express self-abasement and contrition, and seek repentance, but the translations are of dubious accuracy.
I find the notion of Job’s repentance troubling, and I am relieved to find that other interpretations are possible, or even preferable. Job did not sin, and he did not deserve punishment. This story, then, sides with the victim. Does God side with victims? This question, I think, goes to the core of the question of whether God is good. I will explore this question next week.
Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.
3. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman
Seeing the Truth When Others Don’t
Your question and comments are welcome
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