God, Creation and Chaos: learning from the Book of Job

The Book of Job is perhaps the most tantalising book in the Old Testament. It poses disturbing questions about divine purpose and control, and about the place of human beings in God's world. Through his treatment of undeserved suffering the book’s author reaches bold and original insights into God’s relationship with creation as a whole. Exploring the book’s relevance for today, we find rich potential as a pastoral resource and some striking points of contact with the views of modern scientist-theologians.

John Bimson taught at Trinity College, Bristol, from 1981 until retiring in 2015. He developed a module on the Book of Job in the early 1980s, born out of his own fascination with the book. He continues to teach it at Trinity as a visiting lecturer. His other special interests include bird-watching and walking in the Cambrian Mountains in Mid-Wales, where he and his wife Maya run their house as a B&B.