Remember, the book of Job is ante-Christian, not Christian. The New Testament is supposed to be the foundation of Christianity, its teachings (The New Covenant with God) to replace those of the Old Testament, which was history. Jesus Christ gave his life to forge that covenant, after all, and his name was given to that, not to all that had gone before. John Calvin (1509-1564), a French theologian, decided that New Testament teachings of inclusion, tolerance, help to poor and needy, etc. werenât the way to go for the newly developing Protestantism. Other than âSaintâ Paul the misogynist bigot, New Testament writings run pretty much counter to the apparent bulk of actual âChristianâ teachings, or at least actions, today. Most of the nasty things Christians/ists do are based on the Old Testament, not actually on Jesus-based Christianity, and on the twisted interpretations of self-interested people along the way, including now. Some, of course, are based on the wildly fantastical end-times of the book of Revelations etc.
Job (which is likely the oldest part of the judeo-christian scriptures) is problematic for a lot of different Christian groups, for a lot of different reasons. Most of them try to use it as âGod tests us, but he loves you. When you sin, ask forgiveness, and itâll be okâ, but they ignore what it and Isaiah 45:7[1] make pretty clear: In any system of belief with an omnipotent deity, bad things happen because God makes them happen, just like the good things.
In Job, a lot of groups like to point out all the bad things Satan is doing to Job, but they conveniently forget to remind their listeners that Satanâs not doing that stuff on a lark. Heâs doing it because God told him to. Sure, Satanâs the one who expressed skepticism of Jobâs faith to God, but itâs God who says âYeah? Iâll take that bet. Heâs all yours.â Without that? Satan doesnât act. Satan, as presented in Job, is doing exactly what his job title (itâs not a name) entails: being the Adversary, the divine Prosecuting Attorney.
Sure, Job fails the test⌠but God is God. He knew thatâd happen. He didnât have to put Job through all of that just to get an apology out of the guy by playing his âhey, youâve had a hard day? Try being GOD.â card. The real lesson of Job can be contrasted with words from Rocky Balboa, of all places:
Let me tell you something you already know. The world ainât all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and I donât care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life.
But it ainât about how hard you hit; itâs about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. . Itâs How much you can take, and keep moving forward.
Job tells us that when things get tough, and we break, we need to beg forgiveness. We need to appeal to a higher authority for our value. Thatâs the lesson of life for groups like the Calvinists and other fire-and-brimstone groups. Rocky tells us that when things get tough, and we break, it doesnât matter where we find the strength to keep going⌠just keep going.
I know which fictional advice Iâd rather believe in.
[1]. âI form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.â
MatthewâŚ23
Then Jesus said to His disciples, âTruly I tell you, it is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven;
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.â
When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished and asked, âWho then can be saved?ââŚ
For those of you who still have doubts about Trumpâs mental disorder, Maria Konnikova spells out the nature of the disorder outlined by NCSteve in illuminating detail in her new book:THE CONFIDENCE GAME: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-confidence-game/id987332972?mt=11
You cannot read this book and not come away from the pages without confirming your deepest suspicion that Trump becomes a raving lunatic when his narcissistic impulses arenât satisfied
Somebody made a video years ago purporting to be a âcampaign adâ by someone running against Jesus. The idea was that Jesus was wrong on defense (turn the other cheek), wrong on the economy, etc. etc. It concludes with âJesus of Nazareth ⌠Wrong for America.â I managed to find a poster version.
Trump, Price and the rest of this Repuglican gang are obsessed with the goal of hurting people, particularly the por, minorities,and anyone who disagrees with them, They are no better than the noe-Nazis, white supremacists, and the KKKers. They may even be worse. No matter, they are all criminals!
These govs are all moles of putin. Gotta help Putins prez.
Wait a minute.
These are red state governors. Governors with Republican majority government.
Theyâre cutting off Medicaid to many of their citizens.
Trump supporters, we know, are lower on the socio-economic scale than other folks.
How much yâall want to bet theyâre going to be cutting off a lot of Republicans from health care? A substantial percentage.
Enough to turn some states blue?
Itâs times like this when I appreciate Gov John Bel Edwards of Louisiana, DINO that he may be. Sometimes he does the right thing. He signed on to Medicaid expansion, and he wonât seek the waiver.
This is called ârunning the government like a businessâ, specifically, like an insurance company that doesnât want to cover the people itâs supposed to, so it finds traps that used to be called âpre-existing conditionsâ, like poverty, drug addiction, and unemployment. Even filling out the forms late (updates to financial status, mentioned above.)
But government isnât supposed to make a financial profit, but a social one, in the improvement of the conditions of the citizenry.
But these Republicants canât measure anything except in dollars, so here we are.
And they donât care about anything but dollars, so they wonât call out Trump, or any of his appointees, for the criminals they are.
Be aware: the RepublaThugs will blame Obama and the Dems for the Thugs gutting of Medicaid. And the Deplorables will believe them.
Alas, our education system has failed miserablyâŚ
Okay, man that is one seriously fascinating looking book there. One thatâs going oneâs on my short list.
So, the GOP wants to put early ends to the lives of tens of thousands of Americans a year.
Why?
Iâd give this a thousand likes if permittedâŚ
Hoocoodanode?
The idea seems so sound: if we put him on a higher pedestal, he will become more humble. Foolproof, no?
And if the politicians arenât doing it, lawyers should be using it when they sue the state on behalf of children being harmed by these changes.
As a quite serious atheist I have no objection to quoting Jesus regarding caring for the poor.
But Pruitt has bragging rights over how many he can kill.
aka âculling the herd.â
Another salvo in the GOPâs endless war on the poor. Phase 2 is excessive ID requirements to vote. That way, the GOP manages to get reelected in 2018 after screwing people over.