Pain is a central part of the human experience; there's no way around it. The Book of Job covers all its pain bases. Physical pain? Rash, boils, and blisters. Emotional pain? Death of pretty much everyone Job knows. Spiritual pain? Yeah, the whole "why is God punishing me?" thing should count. In this story, the question isn't whether pain exists, but how to react to it in the context of divine loyalty.
Questions About Pain and Suffering
- How does Job deal with the emotional pain of losing his family? Actually, does he deal with it at all? And why is his wife absent in all this? Shouldn't they be crying over their losses together?
- Job seems to take the whole death-of-his-family thing pretty well, but he cracks when it comes to a rash. Why is physical pain Job's breaking point?
- In the Book of Job, is there any method to the pain madness? Why does God allow his believers to be exposed to painful things?
- Does talking about his pain solve Job's problems? Or does it make them worse?