Disordered Thinking and Organized Religion

Originally posted to my Facebook on August 24, 2026

I'm only going one specific place with this one today.

There are probably lots of ways to read the story of Job in the Old Testament of the Bible. Maybe that has to do with the personal questions you have going in.

It is fairly standard to read the story and calamity in the life of a 'righteous' man, and then the man's receipt of restorative blessings.

I'm fine with that interpretation. A good solid, what we call at church 'Primary answer' (aka - one acceptable and understandable by children).

I'm never really sure why certain things get left in the scriptures, while others seem to be left out.

The story of Job seems odd in the 'to-ing and fro-ing' of Satan on the earth. And God essentially telling Satan, 'look at the prime specimen'. I'm not convinced that is the way things went down. But I'm not the storyteller or the transcriber of this history.

It's entirely possible I've been reading the question section wrong this whole time. The way I read it - each time God asks Job a question (beginning in Chapter 38), we proceed with the flowery language / descriptors, which I also don't think are the point.

Sometimes you need the view from the mountain.

I think that is what God gave Job.

Not an elevated view of his own life.

Not understanding about his trials.

I think God gave Job a revelation about the foundation of the world, like you would read a scroll or see the expanse of the heavens. Maybe there was a conversation that included, "Look . . ."

where God would direct Jobs attention to something He/They understand (having formed the earth for a specific purpose). And because Job was able to experience it (sort of) for himself (in a personal revelation), he was able to understand it (the majesty of God's world).

I'm not saying every trial becomes worthwhile. I think we've covered my opinion on the idea that God sent us to 'test us' (as malarkey). We might need a personal revelation about what we value most (a sorting of our own priorities by personal ranking or hierarchy, perhaps). I think God already knows us pretty well.

I do think, sometimes in the intensity of incredibly hard things (individual to each of us), sometimes we get answers to questions we didn't ask. And I'm not sure the individuality of those answers (and that time w/ God), weren't the actual point.

The restored blessings which came later were just the 'gravy'.

I'm not an interpreter of scripture.

Occasionally though, I wonder how often we can be told to content ourselves with 'what is' or 'current revelation' which frustrates the souls of the ones who need better answers.

Not a criticism of organized religion, just an observation.

Whether, possibly . . . spirituality is what answers God's questions, while religion only answers the questions humans can conceive to ask.