Class assignment for Book of Job: “On Friday, we will spend the class thinking about God’s response from the whirlwind. In fact, I am going to ask you to imagine yourself as God— the all-powerful and all-knowing creator of the heavens and earth—dealing with this whiny pipsqueak. You will bring to class a few verses written from the perspective of God in the style of the Book of Job, and will recite them in a loud and thundering voice.”

Example:

Where were you when I made the wolf, with its ravenous appetite, hunts the deer in packs, or chases down the rabbit to its hole? Where were you when I made the dog, with its abiding loyalty, who chases the squirrel without success and lies on the couch to watch TV with you, a faithful companion to people and fierce to thieves and the Fedex deliveryman?

Student examples:

Explain energy,

tell me how the bear knows to hibernate,

how the blind man can see?
How does your suffering surpass,

the birth of another human being?
Be grateful that I’ve chosen

to spare thee.

For death may have been,

a better choice for you.
Maybe your silence would,

let me re-think your punishment,

that your punishment has gone long enough.