One of the greatest significance of the book of Job is its answer to the question of suffering. Job tells us that
1. An individual's suffering is not necessarily the result of sin.
2. It is unjust and unrighteous to use someone's misery as a proof to condemn the sufferer of some probable sin.
3. To falsely condemn a fellow-human and use such opportunity as a false reason to glorify God will not please God at all.
4. Our first call towards the suffering is to help and assist them, not theologize or debate about their situation.
5. There is absolutely no reason to doubt the goodness of God, no matter how bad or unfair life appears to us. God's goodness is greater than all misfortune.
6. Suffering is not just a natural affair; the devil and his hosts are actively involved in suffering that results from the violence of wind, fire, murderous and rioting men, and physical diseases.
7. Nothing is out of the control of God.
8. The goodness of God cannot be limited to experiences just within the span of this short life; there is hope beyond the grave.
Published in REVIVE, May 2012 (Malayalam Edition) A simple and literal definition of “theology” would be “the science of divine things”. It comes from two Greek words theos meaning “God” and logia meaning “discourse or speech”. In modern times, it is the stream of knowledge that differentiates the secular pursuit of knowledge from the sacred one because of its starting point: all secular studies begin with reason and experience while theology begins with faith. The starting point for all extra-theological studies is the world (Latin: saeculum); the starting point for theology is the Word of God. So, while one may say that theology is the study of God, the factual definition would be that theology is the science that rationally pursues the understanding of the self-revelation of God in the Scriptures. It would be interesting to note that many of the universities had originally begun as seminaries and theology was once known as the Queen of Sciences. However, with the dawn of theAge of E...
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