The Book of Job: A Theological Scandal - Paperback

by Irving M. Zeitlin (Author)

Virtually all readers of the Bible love the Book of Job and somehow derive from it a significant theological message. Zeitlin, in contrast, repudiates the message for the following reasons: The Jobian God is an amoral, cosmic deity, beyond good and evil, totally unconcerned with the human condition and principles of ethics, morality and justice. In those terms, the Jobian deity is a glaring anomaly in the context of the Hebrew Bible (The Old Testament), and its ethical, monotheistic framework. The Jobian deity is not only arbitrary and capricious but also becomes complicit in the perpetration of evil. In short, Zeitlin proposes that the Book of Job is a theological scandal.

Author Biography

Irving Zeitlin received his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1964 in the fields of Sociology and Anthropology. He was awarded a National Science Foundation Fellowship, and spent the year following graduation in Paris, France, studying European social theory. Upon returning to the United States, he taught theory at Indiana University, and at Washington University in St. Louis where he was Chair of the Sociology Department. In 1972, he was recruited to chair the Sociology Department at University of Toronto, where he still teaches. Zeitlin also spent a year in England as a visiting lecturer in social theory, and a year in Japan as a visiting professor studying Japanese religions. Zeitlin has published 14 books in his areas of specialization: Social and political thought, and comparative religion. His book, Ideology and the Development of Sociological Theory, is now in its seventh edition, and has been in print for over 49 years. Most relevant to his study of The Book of Job, is his expert knowledge of Hebrew and his three books on the three monotheistic religions: Ancient Judaism, Jesus and the Judaism Of His Time, and The Historical Muhammad. His most recent publication is titled: Jews: The Making of a Diaspora People.