Studies in the Book of Job: When Bad Things Happen to a Good Person

Catalog description

How should we approach when bad things happen to a good person? How shouldn’t we? And why? Where do we find resources to cope with evil? This course explores these and other related issues of human suffering through a critical reading of the book of Job. By the conclusion of this course, students will be able to articulate: (1) the structure, purposes, and theological outlook of Job; (2) biblical theologies of evil and tragedy; and (3) examples from the book of Job as a source for understanding the human condition in our own day. Readings will include works by such scholars as Mitch Albom, Viktor Frankl, Nahum Glatzer, Harold Kushner, Carol Newsom, and Rudolf Otto.