Newsom on Job Restoring the "Order" of the Moral World: An Answer to the Satan's Challenge

I came across this great quote last night, and I thought I would share it.  Enjoy!

“The satan has uncovered an ideological contradiction in the religious discourse that, when brought to light, threatens to render meaningless the fundamental category of that discourse.  As this proto-Nietzschean figure says in his clever genealogy of piety, “Does Job fear God for nothing?  Have you not hedged him about…?”  Fear of God as an absolute value is contradicted by the practice of blessing.  What had been represented as the very image of a coherent and meaningful world in 1:1-3 (blessed existence) is now argued to be a kind of false consciousness.  A hermeneutics of suspicion, if persuasive, performs an unmasking, displacing the false consciousness of ideology with an account that claims to be real truth.  Once exposed, the old categories are emptied of meaning, and a world is destroyed.

In this surprisingly philosophical little didactic tale, what is at stake is not simply the testing of a virtue but the testing of the conditions that make virtue itself possible.  As compelling as the satan’s challenge appears to be, the conventions of didactic story ensure that the hero will meet the challenge and the threat will be discharged.  The interest thus turns to how Job will articulate a form of piety that persuasively resolves the threat of contradiction and incoherency and so restores the conceptual and experiential wholeness of the moral world.”

 

Newsom, Carol A. “Narrative Ethics, Character, and the Prose Tale of Job.” Pages 121-134 in Character & Scripture: Moral Formation, Community, and Biblical Interpretation. Edited by William P. Brown. Grand Rapids, MI.: Eerdmans, 2002.  126

If you want a job, you have to work at it

Call me old fashioned but I’m shocked and appalled at the number of stories I hear about young folk – supposedly keen to get a career and make their mark on the world of work – who are given opportunities only to chuck it in because it requires some effort. Yes, sorry kids, working is tough and requires more energy than lying in bed watching movies all day or pissing around on computer games.

Take, for example, the girl on work experience at my mate’s PR firm the other month. She piddled around on Facebook all day and then didn’t bother turning up for the rest of the week. Then there’s the lad who can’t be arsed to get in work on time and leaves it until mid morning to call in sick. What’s that all about? And what about the kid who turned up at a newspaper office in trainers and asked if he could go home at lunch time because he was bored. Oh, and I once interviewed someone for a trainee reporter’s job who looked at me blankly when asked “what is news?”. Do your research peeps, it’s competitive out there!

When I was a wee cub reporter I made such an effort to create a good impression. Being given a job wasn’t enough for me, I wanted to keep it, and not only that – I wanted to be good it at. This was tough for me, I was painfully shy, but well aware that I was going to have to put myself in some uncomfortable positions if I wanted to learn and do well. I may have hated a lot of it, but it’s just what I had to do.

So, knowing that I wanted to be a journalist I spent two weeks’ work experience at two local newspapers because I knew I wouldn’t have a hope in hell of getting a job without a bit of experience. A lot of people think they want to be journalists but you only get taken on if you’re serious about being one. I was.

That said, those two weeks were hell on earth and the longest days on the planet. Time ticked oh so slowly and with my super shyness on top, I was soooo glad when it was all over. I knew one of the weeks wouldn’t be so great when I phoned a week before my arrival to ask what the dresscode was.

“Where a shirt and tie lad, the usual office stuff,” said the editor down the phone to me.

“Erm, I’m a girl,” I explained, nervously.

“Er…er… then wear whatever you want,” he stuttered.

Ironically, a decade later when I was sitting in the editor’s chair, this man became my deputy. I never did remind him of his misplaced dresscode advice, or the fact he never signed and returned my work experience certificate.

During my first few years as a reporter, senior reporter and then chief reporter, I made sure to be the first in the office and the last to leave. Okay, so I may have been there only two minutes before and two minutes after everyone else, but I had a point to prove. And if my editor was working late then so did I.

I don’t do sick days, the only time I’ve had off ill is four days with flu back in 1999 and two days around five years ago because I had an operation and couldn’t drive. But if I ever do feel ill enough not to go to work, I’ll be sure to notify my line manager before 9am and preferably not by text message. It’s not good enough to call in at 10am when your boss has already sent out a search party!

Sometimes, there’s nothing I’d love more than to sack work off for the day and spend it in bed watching back-to-back Murder She Wrote, catch up on sleep or go shopping. But I don’t. I have a job to do, which for the most part I enjoy and which pays my bills. I have to go.

So for lazy teenagers or 20-somethings given a chance at their chosen career to not put the effort in – especially in the current climate when jobs are few and far between – is simply scandalous. Sorry folks, you will have to drag yourself out of bed in the mornings, you will have to sacrifice other things you enjoy doing in daylight hours and you will have to spend time doing mundane tasks before you get a proper footing on the career ladder. But jobs aren’t handed out and you usually have to do more than turn up every now and then to keep them. Oh, and another thing…. having a degree doesn’t mean you’ll fall into a job either and neither does it entitle you to one. If you have to work for free to get some experience for a while then that’s what you have to do. Work hard in the early days and you’ll reap the benefits in later life. Honest.

"You are an attractive, intelligent, confident businesswoman."

Tomorrow/ in less than nine hours, I’ll be starting my new job. At a place I kind of never imagined myself. I mean, it was a possibility, but it just seemed so lofty. So as usual, I’m finding myself somewhere unexpected.

Let’s just hope this isn’t me in the morning…

To back up a bit before wrapping up, I had to take it one step further in regards to my weekend’s worth of life lessons learned again and again. The big one: people only disappoint you when you set up expectations. And if anyone knows anything about expectations, it’s this guy.

With that, I should hopefully hit the bed soon and very soon, hopefully putting to rest any other expectations about this next chapter in my life.

I got my qualifications, now what?

So I passed my course with flying colors, now what? This is probably the most common question asked amongst students after completion. Whilst a sense of achievement overwhelms you, the reality of starting your career can be somewhat daunting not to mention nerve-wrecking.

With no roadmaps, instructions or guidance for many students completing their studies is much easier then getting the job. As with studying, no step-by-step manual is provided and you are left to figure it out all by yourself.

How do you enter a world you know relatively little about? Where do you start, what strategy do you follow?

Although it all seems gloomy, it’s not as traumatic as it appears to be. Getting a job might not be easy but it’s hardly impossible!

At Darnell training Academy we believe that the key to success is in your own hands and although we cannot guarantee success, we can try to direct you to the right door! We do not only provide our students with the correct knowledge to land their dream job, we also direct them on how to get the job!

Our specialised recruitment team provides all our candidates who have completed their course at the Academy with the support they need to develop their careers goals. With years of recruitment experience across a broad range of sectors our team prides itself on delivering first class service in a very competitive market.

Whether you seek a new job or career guidance our specialised team will be able to provide you with the assistance needed- all you need to do is forward your resume to one of our recruiters and we will try to get you a job that match your qualifications.

If you have completed your course and passed your exams our Academy offers you recruitment service without any charge. At Darnell training Academy we believe that our students come first!

Not only do you get to develop your skills to get your dream job, but at Darnell training Academy we actually help you find that perfect job.

So who said it would be impossible? At The Darnell training Academy everything is possible and we will assist you every step of the way.

To contact the Darnell training Academy recruitment team call 0845 475 0000 (ext 301 or 417).

Lessons Of Life

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years
old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio .

“To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons
life taught me.
It is the most-requested column I’ve ever written.”

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is
the column below once more:

1.  Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5.Pay off your credit cards every month.

6.You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13.Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14.If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.

16.Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

18.Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20.When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21.Over prepare, then go with the flow.

21.Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

22. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

23.Frame every so-called disaster with these words ”In five years, will this matter?”.

24. Always choose life.

25.Forgive everyone everything.

26.What other people think of you is none of your business.

27.Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.

28. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..

29. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

30. Believe in miracles.

31. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

32. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

33. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.

34. Your children get only one childhood.

35. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

36. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere-

37. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.

38. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

39. The best is yet to come.

40. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

41. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

42. Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves.

Simply Forget

I have trouble sleeping at night, more like I have trouble being alone at night.  Especially when it’s almost 2 a.m. and Im used to talking to you at this hour, but you aren’t there anymore, you haven’t been for awhile.  For a long time I was preoccupied, my days were so crazy that at night I didn’t notice as much, or maybe I just never really thought it through.  But I notice now, or maybe I just need you more.  I don’t know what’s going on with me, I never really do – but you used to have a way of turning a simple conversation into a healing tool. Before I knew it, it didn’t matter if I didn’t know what was going on with me, because everything felt much more simple, it felt like it would all work out and be okay. I miss that, now I have to actually focus on the fact that my life is a bit of a mess and well, I don’t know what is going on with me.

Someone asked me today about job interviews and what I was planning to do after May.  Truth is I have no idea. None. Part of the problem is that I don’t know what I want.  The bigger problem is I don’t know how to figure out what I want. It would be great if you had some words of advice or some insight, though optimism’s never really been your thing. If nothing more, right now I’d just settle for one of those simple conversation that make me forget.  Even for just a night – worry can always hold off til tomorrow.

uns 15 minutos

que na verdade duraram quase 2h. vc acha q tava na rota certa e de repente a coisa desanda, descarila. daí eu fico meio bicuda, decepcionada. e não tem coisa pior do que ficar brava/desapontada comigo mesma.
atomosfera apocalíptica. e com a decepção, o fim do mundo parece vir direto e reto em mim.

[foco foco foco]
penso na frase sobre os tímidos… q não sou assim tão importante para todos os olhares estarem virados pros meus defeitos e escorregões. a calma vem aos poucos.
alguém comenta algo sobre cólicas.
aí tudo se ilumina: é a tpm.

não sou tão porcaria assim (tampouco excepcional).