Essay on The Holy Bible - Suffering and The Book of Job -- Holy Bible

Suffering and The Book of Job Life is difficult. Suffering...is not an exception to the human condition, it is the human condition (Gomes 405). The question of wherefore life can be unjustly cruel is asked today and has been asked since the beginning of time. And where is God in the midst of hardship? Is He non-existent, as the pagan nationment, Its stake alone that moves and rules our lives implies (Neiman 442). Or is God only parti in ally in control of situations, as Harold Kushner concludes, writing, there are some things God does not control (462). Is all suffering a direct result of our own actions, as David Neiman offers (He who is suffering and believes in a God of justice, must also blame himself for his state of being (438). Moses Maimonides prefers to view the question by focusing not on the external life that surrounds us, but on the internal condition of the heart. He argues that skillful and evil have their own reward and punishments within the spiri tual realm and outward appearances are inconsequential (Behrens and Rosen 434). For those who believe in a God who is accompaniment and active and who believe in the sanctity of the scriptures, the question of Gods justice in the Bible does moderatem a contradiction at times. As Neiman observed, The Book of Proverbs presents a formula for life, promising blessings to the man who lives a moral life (436). But is The Book of Proverbs a collection of promises or is it the wise mans observations of probabilities? One can see the unpleasant consequences of poor choices, as well as the good fortunes of those who have lived a clean life, but sometimes this moral law breaks down. As Neiman states, gravel has led men to realize that ... ...t out of self-interest (460). Love is not self-seeking. Love is illustrated by a mother who cares for her newborn baby and expects nothing in return. She continues to whop and nurture, until the child is an adult, in anticipation of the beautiful person the child will be. God wants us to anticipate the day when we will be made perfect, and confide His ways, like a child trusting its mother. Works Cited Behrens, Laurence, and Leonard J. Rosen, eds. Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. 7th ed. NewYork Longman, 2000. -Gomes, Peter. The Bible and Suffering. 400-405. - Kushner, Harold S. When Bad Things Happen to Good People. 452-462. - MacLeisch, Archibald. God Has assume of Man. 474-480. - Neiman, David. An Introduction to Job 435-444. The Bible. Revised Standard Version. 2nd ed. Dallas Melton, 1971.