One can take Job as a fable that says "suffering has no reason - but faithfulness will reward you in the end" (er, too bad about the dead family, though - but you got a new better one!).
If instead read literally, it means that God is a complete jerk, who tortures Job, kills his family, just to prove to the Devil that He can do so without destroying Job's faith.
There is nothing in Job that says that suffering is for a good reason. In fact, the friends who suggest such things (either a sin committed, or a lesson to be learned) are rebuked.
Suffering can be caused by mistakes. It can be caused by the bad actions of others. It can be completely senseless and random. Resilient people can rebound from suffering while others need the help of others. Some find a silver lining in the suffering and others find depression or anger.
For myself, seeing the suffering of others convinced me that there is no god who actively intervenes for good in the world (and I was a Christian). Then, the question becomes, what exactly does God do again?
If instead read literally, it means that God is a complete jerk, who tortures Job, kills his family, just to prove to the Devil that He can do so without destroying Job's faith.
There is nothing in Job that says that suffering is for a good reason. In fact, the friends who suggest such things (either a sin committed, or a lesson to be learned) are rebuked.
Suffering can be caused by mistakes. It can be caused by the bad actions of others. It can be completely senseless and random. Resilient people can rebound from suffering while others need the help of others. Some find a silver lining in the suffering and others find depression or anger.
For myself, seeing the suffering of others convinced me that there is no god who actively intervenes for good in the world (and I was a Christian). Then, the question becomes, what exactly does God do again?
