The Book of Job : foundation for testimony in the writings of Gustavo Gutierrez, Elie Wiesel, Archibald Macleish and Carl Gustav Jung
This thesis seeks to illustrate that the classic biblical work on the problem of the innocent sufferer, the Book of Job, is still relevant in twentieth century, Western culture. The exegetical complexity of the Book of Job is outlined in order to show that the work lends itself to diverse interpretations and uses by readers outside the academic community. This thesis then focuses on the writings of Gustavo Gutierrez, a Peruvian Catholic priest, who uses the Book of Job to empower the people's revolt against dictatorships; Elie Wiesel, a Hungarian Holocaust survivor, who identifies himself with Job and believes that Job must still be arguing with God; Archibald MacLeish, an American poet, professor, and statesman, who creates a modern Job who eventually realizes that humans have only the love of other humans as a raison d'ĂȘtre for life; Carl Gustav Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist, who believed that the Book of Job reflects an honest appraisal of the unconscious/God energy - a dualism which Christianity has suppressed much to its detriment. The four authors discussed are not 'critics'. Their use of the Book of Job is not exegetical in the standard sense of the text as object. To them it is a fundamental theme replete
Cooper, Linda Laurance
Religion ; Criticism, interpretation, etc ; Suffering ; Biblical teaching
The Book of Job : foundation for testimony in the writings of Gustavo Gutierrez, Elie Wiesel, Archibald Macleish and Carl Gustav Jung. This thesis seeks to illustrate that the classic biblical work on the problem of the innocent sufferer, the Book of Job, is still relevant in twentieth century, Western culture. The exegetical complexity of the Book of Job is outlined in order to show that the work lends itself to diverse interpretations and uses by readers outside the academic community. This thesis then focuses on the writings of Gustavo Gutierrez, a Peruvian Catholic priest, who uses the Book of Job to empower the people's revolt against dictatorships; Elie Wiesel, a Hungarian Holocaust survivor, who identifies himself with Job and believes that Job must still be arguing with God; Archibald MacLeish, an American poet, professor, and statesman, who creates a modern Job who eventually realizes that humans have only the love of other humans as a raison d'ĂȘtre for life; Carl Gustav Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist, who believed that the Book of Job reflects an honest appraisal of the unconscious/God energy - a dualism which Christianity has suppressed much to its detriment. The four authors discussed are not 'critics'. Their use of the Book of Job is not exegetical in the standard sense of the text as object. To them it is a fundamental theme replete
book_job foundation testimony writing seek illustrate classic biblical work problem innocent sufferer book_job still relevant western_culture exegetical complexity book_job outline order_show work lend diverse interpretation use reader outside academic community focus writing peruvian catholic priest use book_job empower people revolt dictatorship hungarian holocaust survivor identifies job believe job must still argue god american poet professor statesman create modern job eventually realize human love human raison life swiss psychiatrist believe book_job reflect appraisal unconscious god energy dualism christianity suppress much detriment author discuss use book_job exegetical standard sense text object fundamental theme replete