Re: [asa] On Job

Don Winterstein wrote:

> Would you assign Jonah similar status? Then, how about Elijah calling down
> fire on the captains of fifty? Once we get started, how do we know where to
> stop?
>

Several people have already responded to this. It doesn't seem
all that impossible that Job was a real person and that he
really did suffer. But whether he lived or not, I think
everyone can identify with the issues raised in that book
and can picture people who have endured undeserved suffering.
So Job as a fact or Job as a story doesn't interfere with the message
in any significant way.

Jonah would be the same way. I would not expect it to take
a whole day to cross the ancient city of Nineveh unless the
author means that bustle in the city was extensive enough
(particularly during festivals) that it would take that long
to cross the city (for example). Nevertheless, there does
appear to be a fair amount of exaggeration. At any rate,
the message is also more important than the historicity of the
character.

On the other hand, Moses or Jesus are central to both history
and the message. Much is written about them, and for a long time,
Moses was viewed as the sole author of the Pentateuch. So
it would be irrational to deny the existence of Moses (certainly
not without a sound confession). The same goes for Jesus.

So it is important to apply hermeneutical principles (the art or
science of interpreting literature), and it takes work to
understand scripture. There are times I feel your "slippery
slope" concern too, but Job's historicity doesn't seem to add
or detract from the inspiration of the book, in my opinion.

by Grace we proceed,
Wayne

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Received on Wed Oct 4 18:42:23 2006