TO QUOTE THE BEATLES’ enigmatic lyric about the young lady selling flowers from a shelter in the middle of the roundabout, “though she feels as if she’s in a play, she is anyway” (Penny Lane, Lennon-McCartney, 1967). Sometimes we also forget we are in a play. But, to quote another, somewhat earlier British poet, each…
Author: Curtis L. Mattson
Was Job the Father of the Year?
SO, WHAT WAS JOB LIKE as a father? Would he have been voted the “Father of the Year?” Well, considering his children were all killed in the first chapter of the book, and his wife—after her less-than-encouraging “Curse God and die” advice—is strangely silent throughout, we have very little to go on. What We Do…
What is Evil and Where Does it Come From?
THESE TWO BIG QUESTIONS need to be tackled. (1) First of all, what is evil? (2) Secondly, where does it come from (or what causes it)? This post will discuss the second question first. Evil—or more precisely, the results of evil—are like the shock waves from a bomb blast. (I was going to say are…
So Many Questions, So Little Time
THE SUBJECTS COVERED in the book of Job—possibly the oldest book in the Bible—range from the intimate to the expansive, from human emotion to celestial cosmology, from the psychological effects of physical pain to the question of delayed justice and retribution. As you read it, you will notice that themes tend to repeat throughout, with…