{"id":11472,"date":"2012-12-17T13:01:46","date_gmt":"2012-12-17T18:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=11472"},"modified":"2012-12-17T13:01:46","modified_gmt":"2012-12-17T18:01:46","slug":"job-in-newtown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/12\/job-in-newtown.html","title":{"rendered":"Job in Newtown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

That\u2019s not \u201cjob\u201d as in employment in the title of this post, but \u201cJob\u201d as in \u201cthe Book of\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Someone asked me on Facebook recently what I thought the message of Job<\/a> is and how it relates to the tragedy<\/a> in Connecticut<\/a>. I said that the Book of Job<\/a> has a number of points that it conveys. But in light of the recent comments by right-wing Christians<\/a> (which I\u2019ve already commented on<\/a> more than once<\/a>), I want to highlight one particular aspect of the book\u2019s message:<\/p>\n

If you interpret someone else\u2019s suffering, you do so at your peril<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The Book of Job starts with a discussion in heaven that results in Job suffering, even though he is righteous. The large central section depicts in poetic verse discussions between Job and his friends, in which the friends interpret Job\u2019s suffering in terms of their traditional wisdom and theology, and Job protests that their answers don\u2019t fit his actual life and experience. In the end, God appears and expresses his displeasure with the friends for not having spoken rightly about him.<\/p>\n

\"\"I can\u2019t help but wonder whether James Dobson<\/a> has ever read the book. He\u2019s jumped on<\/a> the \u201cthis shooting happened because\u2026\u201d bandwagon along with others<\/a> I\u2019ve mentioned recently, like Mike Huckabee<\/a>, Eric Hovind<\/a>, and Bryan Fischer \u2013 and now one Sam Morris<\/a> can be added to the list. Whether they blame it<\/a> specifically on the removal of teacher-led formal prayer from schools, or something else, they are all siding with Job\u2019s friends against Job. And in the process, just like Job\u2019s friends, they make God look like a monster<\/a> even while they think they are defending him.<\/p>\n

Just think about it. I\u2019m quite sure that anyone who was in Sandy Hook Elementary School when the shooter<\/a> was on the rampage prayed. These pseudochristians are actually saying that regular formal ritual matters more than heartfelt prayer in a moment of genuine need.<\/p>\n

These politicians and preachers who make such statements<\/a> claim to represent God. We do well to remember that so did Job\u2019s friends. But it didn\u2019t mean that they were\u00a0actually<\/em> God\u2019s spokespeople.<\/p>\n

In the Book of Job, the person who \u201cspoke rightly\u201d about God was the one who was suffering. And what he did right was not to defend God but to be honest with his questioning in the midst of heartbreaking sorrow.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere around the blogosphere, many<\/a> others<\/a> have touched on this and related topics:<\/p>\n

Some<\/a> have discussed<\/a> or simply quoted<\/a> the president\u2019s<\/a> homily<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rachel Held Evans<\/a> calls it what it is, emphasizing that God cannot be kept out.<\/p>\n

Joel Watts<\/a> gives thanks that he is a mainline Christian. He also tackles the lie<\/a> that \u201cold time religion\u201d keeps or in the past kept violence out of schools.<\/p>\n

Tony Jones<\/a> discusses the limits that are rightfully placed on our freedoms.<\/p>\n

Jeri Massi<\/a> suggests that many Christians would do better to remain silent.<\/p>\n

Morgan Guyton<\/a> discusses a disturbingly American image.<\/p>\n

See also<\/a> posts<\/a> by Bob Cargill<\/a>, Eric Reitan<\/a>,\u00a0Frankie Schaeffer<\/a>, Bob Cornwall<\/a>, Caryn Riswold<\/a>, Matt Reed<\/a>, John Shore<\/a>, Stacey Samuel<\/a>, Carson T. Clark<\/a>, Matthew Paul Turner<\/a>, and<\/a> of course<\/a> many<\/a> others<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That\u2019s not \u201cjob\u201d as in employment in the title of this post, but \u201cJob\u201d as in \u201cthe Book of\u2026\u201d Someone asked me on Facebook recently what I thought the message of Job is and how it relates to the tragedy in Connecticut. I said that the Book of Job has a number of points that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,139],"tags":[366,1307,1376,1426,2136,3119,3678,4005,5534,5750,7422,8096,9411,10756,10878,11230,12023,12497],"class_list":["post-11472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-of-job","category-fundamentalism-religion","tag-adam-lanza","tag-book-of-job","tag-brian-fischer","tag-bryan-fischer","tag-connecticut","tag-eric-hovind","tag-fundamentalists","tag-god","tag-james-dobson","tag-job","tag-mike-huckabee","tag-newtown","tag-prayer","tag-sandy-hook-elementary-school","tag-schools","tag-shooting","tag-suffering","tag-theodicy"],"yoast_head":"\nJob in Newtown<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"That's not "job" as in employment in the title of this post, but "Job" as in "the Book of..." 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