Wise Religious Cynicism

10.18.12

Job 4.17 17 ‘Can mankind be just before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? NASB

This statement was made by Eliphaz, a man from Teman, a friend of Job. In order to understand this man’s perspective we have to have some understanding of his theology. He theology has roots in the beliefs of Abraham because Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac was the father of Jacob and Esau. And Esau was the father of Eliphaz and Teman was his son. The Temanites settled in an area southeast of Judea and were known for their supposed wisdom. Eliphaz the Temanite was a wise man.

But Eliphaz was not an Israelite and didn’t share all of the theology of the Jews. Eliphaz knew of God but probably worshiped some other god. That’s not to say he was a bad man – it’s just to point out that his theological bent made him think differently about the character and nature of God. So when he poses this question he rightly poses that man is guilty before God. True. But his question assumes man is guilty before God with no remedy – he’s to live out his life in guilt, die, and go to face his Maker: in guilt. Many people share this cynical viewpoint.

The problem with cynicism is that it espouses that there is no remedy; man is always going to be what man is always going to be and there is just no fixing it. Man does what man does and reaps what he sows. That’s the problem with religion: there is no curing of man and there is no pleasing of whatever tenet to which one bows. Eliphaz was wise and (probably) religious.

Religion is rife with cynicism. And even though there are many rituals and rites therein, religion is full of faulty theology. Faulty theology was all Eliphaz had. And that’s why he espoused: “Can mankind be just before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?” Eliphaz knew people and he knew that people were wicked, mean, and ugly to one another. Ancient times were not all that different from our times: people are wicked, mean, and ugly to one another; it don’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out. But the question nagging in most hearts is this: can mankind be just before God; can a man be pure before his Maker? Will we ever get out of this bottomless cesspool of cynicism!?

Yes.

Man can be justified before God through faith in God. Man can be pure before God through his association with God – according to God’s terms. That’s the important part, according to God’s terms. Yes, Eliphaz, the world is screwed up beyond all belief from the human perspective. No, the world cannot be fixed from the human perspective. But we are not invited to live according to human perspective (or even Pablo’s Perspective), but God’s perspective. Abraham, the great, great, great, great, great grandfather of the Temanites believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness (just and pure) by God. Abraham perceived life through God’s lens and received what Eliphaz believed to be impossible: blamelessness and purity in God’s sight. Religion doesn’t have any room for a God like that; religion is too cynical to believe a truth like that.

Father, keep me from the cesspool of cynicism and from the world’s belief that there is no remedy. Help me to live according to Your terms safe in the arms of Christ in Whom is the manifold wisdom of God, oh, and justice and purity. Amen.