The Blasphemer

I cursed God
and there was nothing.
He must be dead.

I never thought
he might have been waiting –
to see how far I'd go.


26 September 1988
  
 

I assume most people are familiar with the story of Job. I’m probably wrong in this but I’m going to assume you are familiar with the story of Job. It forms the central core of my new book—haven’t mentioned that for a week or two—but I’m not giving away any secrets. I would expect most people—most people who know the story of Job—to get that from the opening exchange between Joe and Lucien. There are a few puzzlers in the account but the one that always jumped out at me was Job 2:9:

His wife said to him, "Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!"

People curse God every day. They take his name in vain. They call out to him in the throes of ecstasy. I always wondered how that would go with Job. Would he get struck with a bolt of lightning or something? It seemed a bit easy. Maybe it was too easy which is why it doesn’t work nowadays. It would save all those suicides so much effort and trouble if they could just say the magic words and ZZZT! that would be them, fried to a crisp.