I believe Christianity is the one true religion. That is why I chose to become a Christian. Nevertheless, I believe it is possible to be saved without choosing to become a Christian. As Paul said in Romans 2:12-16, God Law is written in our hearts. We know both when we are doing right and when we are doing wrong.

PS — Thank you for your comment and your praise.

A few things come to mind right off. First, people often get closer to God (or their spiritual entity) and their core beliefs when things are worst. In times of crises, our beliefs are the things that get us through. Perfect example: the rise in patriotic fervor post 9-11. Essentially, Job was under attack. His faith and hope kicked in so he could get through it. It makes sense to me he would turn to his God at that time and believe, no matter what, that God would get him through. What is amazing about Job isn’t necessarily his turning to God in crisis, but that his faith endured throughout his compounded miseries.

And yes, Job, a survivor whose story has inspired us for thousands of years, is indeed blessed. He has become immortal. We admire survivors, strong people who find ways to make life worthwhile even when we (and they themselves) might say, “Why stay alive when all we seem to do is suffer?” We look at people who are less fortunate than us, people who make the best of bad situations, and we can say, “If they can do it, so can I!” And that gives us courage to carry on. Without role models like these, I think we all would have just ended it a long time ago.

As to the why’s and how’s of God honoring Job with pain, I tripped on that as well. As I noted above, I get it in a way. But I’m not sure we should be glorifying pain like that because surely, it would be nice to have strong faith without having to endure such misery. I prefer to think of Job as an inspiration and role model to help us continue on, keep our faith, and make it good in the end.

I am not one to believe God would try to teach us lessons by inflicting pain on us because that’s not the kind of God I believe in. I believe pain is just life, part of the growing and evolutionary process. I think the God in Job really is a different, Old Testament version of God. It is one “face” of God. In fact, this version of God reminds me of the Greek Gods believed to control mortals, bringing on pain or wealth, sadness or happiness at will for some reason we humans cannot understand. There is a striking cultural resemblance to the Gods of the Greeks and this Old Testament version of God in the book of Job. And of course, there are connections between Greek and Christian philosophies that are commonly accepted, so why not this God of Job’s as well?