We Find Ourselves Put to the Test: A Reading of the Book of Job

by James Crooks

Overview

Does the world we inhabit offer us hospitality or indifference? This question is central to the spiritual literature of all cultures. In We Find Ourselves Put to the Test James Crooks returns to the Bible’s book of Job to explore the enduring relevance of that question and its philosophical dimensions. Beginning with the puzzle of Job’s famous stoicism and nihilism in the face of loss, Crooks explores the contradictions of suffering as dramatized in the dialogue between Job and his friends. How is it that the friends’ attempt to comfort Job with a rational explanation of his misfortune devolves seamlessly into victim blaming? How is it that Job’s own renunciation of life at the nadir of his pain converts into an intellectual patience that outlasts the advocates of rational explanation? We Find Ourselves Put to the Test gives a portrait of the suffering protagonist looking into the heart of a creation that is, by necessity, both indifferent and hospitable. A philosophical exploration of one of the most enigmatic books in the Bible, We Find Ourselves Put to the Test goes beyond critical interpretation and suggests a way of reading the book of Job that is animated by a consideration of the reader’s narratives and communities, and the limits of his or her own understanding.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780773554382
Publisher:	McGill-Queens University Press
Publication date:	05/07/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

James Crooks teaches philosophy, liberal arts, music, and musical theatre at Bishop’s University.
James Crooks is professor of philosophy at Bishop’s University and director emeritus of the Bishop’s University Singers.

Table of Contents

Preface: "Take Up and Read!" ix

Acknowledgments xiii

1 Two Beginnings - or, How I Came to the Book of Job 3

2 Job Finds Himself Put to the Test 18

3 Job's Friends Try to Comfort Him 34

4 Job Is Patient 54

5 God and Satan Wager: A Dramatic Interlude 75

6 Elihu Takes Up the Argument 90

7 The Voice from the Whirlwind 113

8 Job Is Restored 145

Notes 157

Index 165

Editorial Reviews

"Crooks argues "that Job is best read as a careful description of how [one finds oneself] put to the test" to meet "reality point blank" and in silence. That experience is what leads Job to restoration. Crooks does not try to solve critical and exegetical issues; he attempts to find usefulness and meaning in what is a most opaque book. Recommended." Choice


"We Find Ourselves Put to the Test will interest students, scholars, and general readers alike. Crooks approaches the material with freshness and aplomb, and the result is an engaging and thoughtful interpretation of an important canonical text." Ron Srigley, Laurentian University

From the Publisher

06/01/2018
Approaching the Book of Job as a philosopher and lover of the dramatic arts, Crooks (philosophy, musical theatre, Bishop's Univ.) reveals a remarkably complex character who rings true. Providing insights into this confounding biblical text, in which the prolog and epilog appear tacked on, God's answer to Job sounds like a blustering non sequitur, and Job's various responses seem hopelessly incongruent. Here, Crooks finds Job addressing whether the world is a place of nurture or indifference. Then like a Stoic of ancient Greece and Rome, Job turns to despair in discovering it all to be absurd. His comforters attempt to rescue him from this conclusion by insisting on a theological framework of punishment and repentance. But when Job refuses, his friends turn on him in order to rescue their ideology. Because Job recognizes his small part in the world, God's speeches (and Job's replies) make sense. VERDICT Crooks's personal and literary remarks, along with his use of stage craft, add to this philosophical exploration, giving readers a new appreciation for this example of ancient wisdom literature.—James Wetherbee, Wingate Univ. Libs., NC

Library Journal