The Trial of Job: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Job [Paperback]

Patrick Henry Reardon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2005

"The book of Job always constituted essential and formative reading about the ways of the soul. This has always been the conviction of the spiritual classics through the centuries. Yet, for some reason, the figure of Job is elusive to us-possibly because by seems so comfortably distant; or perhaps because he seems so frightfully close. What Fr. Patrick Reardon achieves with this book is to render Job comprehensible, tangible and accessible. Ultimately, all of us identify with one or another aspect of Job's life. As life inevitably informs and as this book intuitively confirms, one cannot sing Psalms without having read Job." - Fr. John Chryssavgis

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Patrick Henry Reardon is pastor of All Saints' Orthodox Church in Chicago, Illinois, and a senior editor of Touchstone. Father Reardon was educated at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), St. Anselm's College (Rome), The Pontifical Biblical Institute (Rome), the University of Liverpool (England), and St. Tikhon's Orthodox Seminary (South Canaan, PA). Author of Christ in His Saints, (Ben Lomond, CA: Conciliar Press 2004), Christ in the Psalms (Ben Lomond, CA: Conciliar Press, 2000) and more than 500 articles, editorials, and reviews, published in Books and Culture, Touchstone, The Scottish Journal of Theology, The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Pro Ecclesia, St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly, and other journals on three continents over the past forty years, Father Reardon is available for retreats, homilies, lectures, and Bible studies all year round, but never on Sundays. Recent talks include, "The Bible and the Liturgy," "Communion and Division," and "Thou Art the Everlasting Son of the Father." Fr. Reardon is the author of Touchstone’s web-exclusive feature, Daily Reflections, which contains brief commentaries on the church's lectionary readings.

Product Details

• Paperback: 107 pages
• Publisher: Conciliar Press (June 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888212721
• ISBN-13: 978-1888212723
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #501,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Helpful, Insightful, Comforting and Inspiring Study of Job!, March 23, 2006

By 

Fr. Tervo (Oakland, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Trial of Job: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Job (Paperback)

The Book of Job is fruitful to read without a guide, but if you want to "dine on it," you must have a trusted guide. I have read Fr. Reardon's other books as well as his reflections in Touchstone Magazine and I know him to be a trusted guide. As an Orthodox Christian I chose this book to read during Great Lent. As an Orthodox Christian priest, I recommend others to do so as well. This book is very good in providing a key to understanding Job's defenses, arguments and rebuttals, as well as those of his three so-called "Comforters." I particularly found the chapters where "the wrath of Elihu" puts Job on the right track. Fr. Reardon's reflections on these chapters I found particularly edifying. To paraphrase Fr. Reardons reading of on of Elihus's counsels, "no one, not even Job, is beyond improvement." Like Job, we need to and can learn from our suffering and the suffering of others to "love God for God's sake." "Behold God is mighty, but despises no one; He is mighty in strength of understanding."
Like true Orthodox Christian catechetical writings, this book is written by a real person to real people. This book is best specifically because it is NOT a scholarly work. It is a good book for people who care about the salvation of their souls.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good book - a few clarifications needed, however, December 26, 2005

By 

J. Wisnowski (free country, usa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Trial of Job: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Job (Paperback)

Put simply, this book has an excellent chapter by chapter analysis of Job. It is, perhaps, more useful for the preacher than the scholar, but could certainly prove beneficial for both. Before reading this, I was very familiar with the book of Job, but if you haven't read Job yet, I would recommend reading it alongside of this. Don't bother trying to get a grasp of Job on your own. As Reardon's commentary will point out, Job's very purpose is to be beyond any simple meaning. It may, then, help to read, say, chapter one of Job, then Reardon's commentary on it- and so on. But, again, this is a very insightful little book.

But moving on to some clarifications: first of all, amazon advertises this as a 214pg book. The copy I purchased, which has the same copyright date and publisher, is only 107 pgs. This shows that it will not, nor could not, be a tremendously in-depth look at the book of Job because it simply could not be done in so little space. So, once again, it may be more helpful for the preacher than the scholar. Now, my second complaint: the title is deceptive. "Orthodox Reflections" is misleading because, as a student of eastern Christianity, I find nothing particularly "orthodox" about it. It is simply a commentary on Job, done by an orthodox priest - a good one, at that, but nothing that makes it come off as Byzantine, for example, as opposed to Roman or Protestant reflections on the book.

But, to conclude, this is a very good, insightful book and is well worth the money.

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Devotional Material, December 13, 2010

By 

Bradley S. Cunningham "Brad Reads" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Trial of Job: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Job (Paperback)

This is not a commentary, but of course it isn't really supposed to be a technical work. It is short and succinct with about two smallish pages of material for each chapter. But, as always, Fr. Reardon's writing is densly packed with more insight than most articles of the same length. All in all, this makes a nice devotional reading or group study material source.