Commenting on this statement of Raymond Brown:
> >Brown discusses the problem of inerrancy. He argues that attempts to
> >explain away errors and inconsistencies in scripture often do more harm
than
> >good. He says that there is indisputable evidence of not only
scientific,
> >but also historical errors in the Bible. (He cites DanielĂs mistakes
about
> >the timing of various Babylonian interventions). He goes on to state
that
> >there are even theological errors. For instance, Job 14: 13 -22 denies
the
> >possibility of an afterlife.
> >
Stuart writes:
> An interesting post, except that I fail to see how Job 14:13-22 is
> any denial of an afterlife. There really doesn't seem to be any
> explicit, implicit, or even any allusion to the denial of an
> afterlife. Maybe i'm wrong, but I read it through several times and
> the whole chapter as well, and I don't see it. What it says to me is
> that Job is simply bemoaning the frailty of mortal existence, and
> that is all. There really doesn't seem to be any reference to the
> immortal soul, or I should say, the denial of it. There might be
> something in verses 10-12 which refers to this , but again I think
> Job is referring to mortal existence, not immortal life, he even says
> that they shall not be raised out of their sleep. If their is no
> afterlife, then how can they even be asleep, no afterlife means no
> life whatsoever, ie: the complete obliteration of existence, yet Job
> never says this at all. He is simply lamenting the suffering sense of
> mortal existence, I really don't see any denial of i!
> mmo
> rtality here. I'm afraid you will have to prove me wrong if you
> maintain there is such denial. If Brown maintains this, then I have
> to consider his work and premise as being suspect. Error results not
> from the truth which is contained in the scriptures, but by the human
> reading of them, or should I say, misreading of them.
>
> Stuart K.
>
Bob's comment:
I think that the character of Job is bemoaning more than the frailty of
mortal existence. He is saying that once human life comes to an end, that's
it. In v. 14, Job's question is rhetorical: "If mortals die, will they
live again?" and the answer implied is, No.; the question follows the
sentiments Stuart refers to in vv. 10-12. There is a suggestion in v. 13,
that perhaps something could extend beyond Sheol: in "Oh, that you would
hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath is past" Job
seems to be saying that he wishes God would keep him in Sheol and then
restore him. But what follows seems to say that this desire will not be
fulfilled. Nobody leaves Sheol.
The Hebrew concept of the afterlife, which the author of Job shared, was
that when human beings die, they all go into the Underworld (Hebr. "Sheol,"
the "Hades" of the NT), a place of dark, shadowy existence where the spirits
of mortals dwell. In the Book of Job, Sheol is described as "a pit, a place
of darkness, dust, and worms; these seem to represent the tomb (Jb 17:
13-16); one who descends to Sheol does not come up (Jb 7:9) {J. McKenzie,
_Dictionary of the Bible_, p. 800, s.v. "Sheol). Job's desire that God use
Sheol as a temporary hiding place for him is already a vain hope. While in
some passages of the OT, there is the notion that Sheol could be a place of
suffering for those whose deeds in life were evil, in most references to
Sheol, it is conceived simply as a place where all dwell beyond this life,
for good. There is no suggestion in any of the references to the Underworld
in the OT of immortality.
It should be noted that Brown uses the word "afterlife," not
"immortality." I wonder if Stuart means the same thing Brown means. In
fact, I'm not certain one can make a case for a belief in immortality in the
Bible, in the sense of the immortality of the soul. In Daniel, late in the
Bible chronologically, and early in the Jewish tradition, one finds the
notion of the resurrection of the dead, which is developed in the NT, but th
at is not the same concept as immortality, if by the latter word one is
referring to "the immortality of the soul." That concept came into
Christianity from Greek philosophy, and is popularly thought of today as the
Christian notion of afterlife, rather than belief in the resurrection of
the body, however often many of us Christians proclaim our belief in the
latter when we recite the Apostles' or Nicene creeds. I can't put my hands
on the reference, but I believe that "immortality of the soul" was declared
dogma by the western Church only in the late Middle Ages. Perhaps I may be
mistaken, but it seems to me that the only place one might make a care for
immortality without the body in the NT is in the concept of "theosis" which
eastern theologians derived from 2 Peter 1:4. While Paul speaks of
immortality in his magnificant hymn on the resurrection in I Cor. 15, it is
the resurrected, immortal body he speak of (15:53-55). This is not a
notion one finds in Job, and I agree with Stuart in this respect; but I
disagree that Job is merely speaking of mortal existence.
Let me conclude by saying that Raymond Brown is one of the most careful
biblical scholars I know. Like George Murphy, I have found Brown's
commentary of the Gospel of John a valuable resource. I used it extensively
when I taught John in Greek. I also share his admiration for Brown's
studies of the birth and passion narratives.
Grace and peace,
Bob Schneider
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