Seems like the new year has roused a few people to start getting mad about stuff. Take Karen for instance, who then inspired Adam (of Cleaveland fame, not Genesis). Adam referred to John Piper's "analysis" of the Indian Ocean disaster as "shit like this". I had seen that link referenced in several places, but not until yesterday did I decide to read it.
It appears that Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell learned well from their stupid, disastrous comments in the wake of 9/11 and chose to keep quiet on this one. But wait, here's Piper to the rescue!
Piper uses the book of Job liberally (and it may be the only thing he ever does "liberally") as well as a few other out of context one liners from the Bible to support his thesis that, well, they had it coming.
This got me thinking again about the book of Job. What really amazes me is that there are people who think it's a real story. I mean, come on people, it starts with God and Satan debating the wheres and whyfores of Job's great faith and obedience to God. The premise of God allowing Satan to toy with Job, like a cat with a mouse, to see how far his faith will stretch is an obvious storytelling ploy. It's about as likely to be a real story as say, Chris De Burgh's Spanish Train. The story was written down centuries after it was supposed to have happened (varies according to source, but the numerous writing styles indicate multiple authors from multiple time periods).
So what if it's not a historical story? It doesn't mean it isn't an incredibly powerful poetic tale that thoroughly deserves it's place in the canon (apparently it's one of the few books about which there was little or no argument...)
Fictional stories can be very powerful and contain some real fundamental truths about human nature, from the Emperor's New Clothes to If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Well I guess that last one is more about mouse nature, but you get the idea.
So Piper and his fundie friends can gloat all they want, but I find comfort in the fact that there are smart leaders out there, Christian and otherwise, who are speaking out.Two that crossed my door are Bishop Tom Wright (Bishop of Durham - my home town cathedral) and Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. It's a shame we in the US have to look abroad for sane religious responses.
On the other hand, there are loonies out there in the UK too. A quote from the article:
A small, insistent voice in the back of my head says: “Isn’t this amazing!” A minor but insuppressible part of me has almost relished — yes, relished — those huge numbers. As the newspaper headlines spoke greedily of the numbers of dead “approaching” twenty, then fifty, then eighty, then a hundred thousand, something undeniable twitched in the back of my brain. It was a sort of excitement as the figures mounted; as though some great auctioneer of calamity were taking bids from the media floor, and I was willing the bidding to carry on upwards. When will it reach a hundred thousand? Could it reach a quarter of a million? Was this a record? How did it stand in the history of these disasters? That high! Wow!
Wow indeed, you insane moron. Makes Piper look tame by comparison.
