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{"id":2004,"date":"2012-07-14T12:50:00","date_gmt":"2012-07-14T12:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2012\/07\/of-dust-and-ashes-a-re-reading-of-the-book-of-job.html"},"modified":"2012-07-14T12:50:00","modified_gmt":"2012-07-14T12:50:00","slug":"of-dust-and-ashes-a-re-reading-of-the-book-of-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2012\/07\/of-dust-and-ashes-a-re-reading-of-the-book-of-job.html","title":{"rendered":"Of Dust and Ashes: A (Re) reading of the Book of Job"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

by Crystal St. Marie Lewis<\/a>
R3 Contributor
From: Crystalstmarielewis<\/a><\/p>\n

I used to hate the book of Job.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about a guy against whom God and the satan conspired\u2026 the ancient story of a despicable prank. The satan approached God with a wager of sorts: \u201cI bet you won\u2019t find one believer in Israel who will remain faithful to you in the face of calamity.\u201d God heard the bet and volunteered \u201chis servant\u201d Job\u2013 and immediately thereafter, all hell broke loose.<\/p>\n

As the story goes, the satan pulled strings while God watched, and Job lost his home, his wealth, and his cattle. His children were all killed, he was stricken with a terrible sickness, his wife lost her faith and his friends turned against him. In despair, Job cried out to God demanding answers, but would not blaspheme. The end of the story records a famous reward for Job. God honored his unwillingness to blaspheme by replacing his wealth and giving him new children. I used to think about this story and say, \u201cIf this is God\u2013 thanks, but no thanks\u201d and cynically dismiss the entire narrative.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve heard dozens of sermons about Job but could never find any inspiration in the story until last year when I took a course in Hebrew Bible at seminary. My professor explained to us that at the end of the story, there\u2019s a verse that doesn\u2019t translate very clearly. In the King James Version, Job 42:6 says \u201cWherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cdust and ashes,\u201d as I have always understood them, were ritualistic symbols associated with repentance, and the assumption has always been that Job \u201crepented\u201d\u2013 using dust and ashes to express how sorry he was for being angry. However, my professor explained that this crucial verse could actually say a variety of other things, and is a debated topic in the world of Biblical scholarship. One of the options for its translation is:<\/p>\n

\u201cTherefore, I change my mind about the dust and ashes.\u201d<\/p>\n

As I listened to my professor explain that there are various meanings for the \u201cdust-and-ashes\u201d verse\u2013 I began to think about my own experiences with loss, despair, religious folks and spirituality. I put myself in Job\u2019s shoes and wondered if, while under the pressure of what it meant to be human, Job changed his mind about what it meant to be ritualistic, or religious\u2026 Or more controversially\u2013 maybe he changed his mind about God.<\/p>\n

I thought to myself: Maybe the book of Job isn\u2019t about what it means for God to be God, or for the satan to be the satan. Maybe it\u2019s about what it means for us to be human, and what it means for humans to evolve spiritually. Maybe it\u2019s about what it means for religious folks to \u201cchange our minds\u201d as we live our lives.<\/p>\n

In my experience with Christian fundamentalism, the Book of Job was used to bind broken people to spiritually abusive systems by telling them that there would be some reward for sticking with \u201cGod.\u201d Like so many others who have left unhealthy expressions of the faith, I once felt that I was being crushed by harmful religious influence(s) with no escape. When I finally got out, I projected all of my negative feelings about that experience onto God\u2026 It took a lot of time for me to separate God from my former church experiences, and to accept that I was better off without the influence of those organizations. After some time, I was able to see things a little more clearly and decided to put my spiritual pieces back together\u2013 even if it meant separating myself from traditional forms of Christianity.<\/p>\n

At a time of intense despair in my life, I did as Job did\u2026 I sat\u2026 often alone\u2026 and asked the hard questions about what it meant for me to be spiritual. Over the course of several months, I changed my mind about the dust and ashes \u2014 the ritual \u2014 of it all. It was the absolute healthiest thing I ever did. Blessings to those of you who are also changing your minds about the dust and ashes.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"