Job and Kubler-Ross

Biblical and Buddhist Grief: A Comparison

Job's lamentations, according to Patricia Byrne (2002), represent the painful process of redefining his place in the world. Before Satan's challenge to God to test Job's faith, Job's life was the envy of his neighbors. With seven healthy and vibrant sons and three daughters, seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, one thousand oxen, five hundred donkeys, and an untold number of servants, Job was a profoundly wealthy man (Job 1:2-4, King James Version). Job's sons and daughters feasted every day, leaving the reader to imagine a life of happiness and fulfillment. To forestall vanity however, Job thanked God daily for all he had been given. When Satan challenges God to test Job's faith, all this is stripped away and his body and mind are tormented with disease.

Job begins his grieving process by cursing the day he was born and wishing...
[ View Full Essay]