Job

[Belacqua]

Hey guys, I'm new here but I was encouraged by a few members to start my own topic so hopefully this is okay even though I just got here.

For my first topic I would like us to discuss the book of Job as it is one of my favorite books of the Bible. For me personally I have always viewed suffering as a necessary thing that tests and proves our values and convictions. But I also find that the problem of suffering is often the biggest obstacle to faith for many people. It is such a personal thing, how can a loving God allow for an innocent man to suffer? How is it that he could allow for some of the worst things to happen to some of the best people?

So simply put, this thread is dedicated to the problem of suffering in our belief system but to make the topic a little more specific (and interesting) I would also like to get your guys views on the story of Job specifically.

Probably you know, there's a brief story in the New Testament with a message that might be similar.

Luke 4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them: Do you think that they were more sinful than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”…

These 18 people died from bad luck, but were not more sinful than anybody else. 

In the early part of the Old Testament, it seems to say that if you are good and follow God's laws, you'll have a long and prosperous life. That changes at the Book of Job, which is a kind of hinge toward a very different meaning. 

Good people can and do suffer. By the time we get to the New Testament, Jesus is saying that God loves these people more than the rich and prosperous. It looks a lot like a reversal from the earliest message.