Brothers and Sister in Christ,

In these next three chapters we have one of Job’s friends, Eliphaz, doing his best to explain to Job why it is that such trials have befallen him. There is a lot of truth in what Job’s friend has to say to him, “Shall man be justified in comparison of God, or shall a man be more pure than his maker? Behold they that serve him are not steadfast, and in his angels he found wickedness”. And Job is not foolish enough to completely disregard what he is hearing, but is still unsatisfied with his friends answer, “How agreeable are honest words; yet how unconvincing is your argument!”

We read in the previous three chapters that Job was one of the most righteous men in the entire world. Even if he did deserve all that happened to him, it would follow that those who are less righteous than Job would suffer even more. We know that this is not the case. All we have to do is look around and see that, by our own standards, amount of punishment one endures in this world is not directly related how righteous a person is.
So the question still remains, why does God allow suffering such as Job’s to happen to some of the people who follow him most devoutly? That is why we are reading this book, to try and get a better understanding of this important question. I am sure as we go further into our reading, our understanding will be better.

In the meantime, here is a beautiful reflection on suffering for us to keep in mind as we read Job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCPsZ-Vi6Ck

Be a blessing,

Sean

Summer Bible Study: The Book of Job

Hello my brothers and sisters in Christ! This summer we will be going through the book of Job together. It is my goal that we read a couple of chapters each week and by the time we are ready to return to IUP we will have completed the book. Since we are doing an Old Testament book for our Bible study it is going to be a little different. This isn't going to be like one of the Gospel where we hear Jesus speak directly to us or one of the Epistles where we are instructed on how to live Christian lives. This book reads much more like a novel which may present us with some challenges as the summer progresses. However, this book will reveal to us Gods nature in its own unique way and reading scripture is always enlightening and fruitful.

I do not want this blog to about recapping the chapters we are reading each week. That would be boring and an insult to your intelligence. Rather, I want this to be a place where you can bring your questions you have about the text, things you learned, and things that the holy Spirit has revealed to you in your readings.

Here are two websites where you can find the Bible online. The footnotes may be of interest and may help answer some of your questions. Also, the one has an introduction to the Book of Job if you are interested in reading that if your Bible at home does not have one.

http://drbo.org/chapter/20001.htm

http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/index.shtml#job

I look forward to reading your comments and hearing what God whispers in your hearts. I only ask that you try and keep your posts as brief and concise as possible. By all means, say what you need to say, but remember we will be reading a couple of chapters a week and then everyone else's post's and that may begin to add up.

So without further ado, we will be reading chapters 1-3 this week (and the Introduction if you feel so inclined). Take your time reading them and prayerfully consider what you want to post. We have all week to talk about these three chapters and again, I look forward to hearing from all of your!

Be a blessing!

Sean

TOB Week 3

This coming week, the chapters are:

The Look of Lust
True Attraction
Objectifying the Body
Adultery within Marriage
The Path to Purity

See you all next week, same place, hopefully a little earlier (I've been a bit of a slacker...)!

ToB Week 2

Hello Everyone!

This week (May 24th-May 31st) we will be studying the chapters "The Way of the Gospel" up to and including "The Voice of Wisdom." Happy Week-Before-Memorial Day!

Summer Theologizing

Hi Everyone,

Here is where we will be conducting our summer study of Theology of the Body. Please comment on anything interesting, cool quotes, or relevant newsy type things. This week (May 17th-23rd) we will be reading "Broken Communion" up to and including "Mutual Belonging."

Happy Reading!

ToB Extras

As I was reading this week's chapters, I ran across a bunch of things that aren't really related to this section, but were still cool/interesting/profound. Thus, this post came to be. If you see anything in the media that's cool, any examples of ToB or anti-ToB, post all those delicious miscellaneous tid-bits here!

Theology of the Body Book Club

Hello Everyone!

Here is the thread we'll be using for the Theology of the Body (ToB) book group. This week (Week of Monday March 15th) we'll be reading the following chapters:

The Beginning
In God's Image
Original Innocence
The Promise of Redemption
Original Solitude

Have a great week and blessings on your reading!