On Mon, 29 Nov 1999, Ross Hennesy wrote:

> Hello-
> 
> This is Ryan. I'm 15 and live in Dallas, TX. I don't know if you can help me
> or not, but I was really confused. I was reading the book of Job, and I
> can't figure out why God just goes off on Job (38:1-41:34). The only reason
> I can think of that makes sense is that Job was maybe questioning God's
> justice (saying "why did you let this happen?") or maybe he was asking for a
> personal appearance and an explanation from God when he had no right to ask
> for that. If you could send me some answers or refer me to someone or
> something that could help answer my questions I would be greatly
> appreciative. Again, Thank You.
> 
> Ryan
> 
> P.S. This is my brothers e-mail so put something about "To Ryan" or
> something to that effect in the subject.
> 
Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1999 11:55:00 -0600 (EST)
From: Dr. Robert Sheldon 
Subject: To Ryan

Hi Ryan,
 Don't feel bad about being confused, just about everybody is, and for the
last 3000 years! That should tell you something, Like maybe the writer of
Job wanted everyone to be confused on purpose. But its hard to do that for
3000 years, unless you play a trick on everyone. The trick, I believe, is
"self-reference". Sort of like trying to make the guy in the mirror smile
first. Job holds up a mirror to our thoughts and makes us think about what
we think, he makes us eat our words. In this book, God lectures on
everything EXCEPT the problem in front of His nose, Job's pain. Its
written that way on purpose, to keep us from sneaking a look at the end of
the book and skipping the middle. Nope, you have to read what God says,
then try to figure out what He is saying to the 3 friends and Job, and
work it back and forth. As you do that, you start to understand better how
you think about pain, and how God thinks about it, and how Job thinks
about it, and suddenly, its a whole new ball game. 
  There's no secret to interpreting Job, because its knowing yourself.
Thats the hardest part, and the part most people would rather skip. I've
tried to address those parts from different views, sort of like trying to
figure out the best way up Mt Everest by looking at it from every angle. 
In one chapter I try to say that suffering might just be good for you. In
another chapter I say that philosophers have it all wrong. In another
chapter I look at how we judge ourselves when we judge Job. I don't think
Job was questioning God's justice (though lots of people still think that
this is the message of Job, which really just tells you how they think of
God in the first place). What I think is happening is Job is questioning
God's friendship. As Teresa of Avila put it "God if this is how you treat
your friends, no wonder you have so many enemies!" What Job really wants
is a face-to-face talk with his old friend, God. And he gets it. 

Try reading the chapters in the study: http://cspar181.uah.edu/RbS/JOB/
and let me know if you understand it better.

Pax,
Rob Sheldon