This past Sunday, I began a five week series on Job and suffering at First Pres. Arlington Heights. Obviously we spent much of our discussion time talking about God’s role in human suffering, esp. in light of the recent disaster in South Asia. Our small class is not alone on pondering such ideas. NPR, ABC news, and many other news and information sites are talking about religion and suffering. I may have some more thoughts on this later.
I realized this weekend that the last time I taught on Job and suffering was 9/9 and 9/16, 2001. Needless to say, the discussion on 9/16 took on a completely different tone. I shared this fact with my class last Sunday. Afterward, one of the participants jokingly told me that I should be careful about the next time that I teach Job at a church. I should be clear that I don’t believe in this kind of Holy Spirit determinism, at least not in relation to such terrible events. Still, it is a strange coincidence in a “Twilight Zone” kind of way.