The Reason of Job: How Job and Other Prophets Give Shape to the Messiah Motif in the Bible and Qur'an: A Christian Perspective

The story of Job is probably the most heart-wrenching and pervasive story of suffering that is often included in philosophical discussions on the problem of evil. Job was a highly regarded man of God in both Christianity and Islam, and an undisputed prophet in Islam. Both religions have overlapping scripture about him in our holy books, as well as tradition. This is also true of other prophets from the Tanakh, or the Old Testament of the Bible. It contains the book by his name with forty-two chapters, and a fair amount of content that is unique to it. The Reason of Job explores what this author believes is the main reason for Job’s suffering and restoration, plus the restoration of his four friends. It then, through the lenses of the Bible and Islamic literature, examines many other prophets or saints to trace their common qualities, experiences, and motifs pointing to the prefigured Messiah.

Scott R. Cherry calls himself a "street" philosopher and theologian, meaning that he is adept in both fields in a nonprofessional capacity and is continually learning. He makes his living as a cross-cultural "E-pologist," or an intellectual evangelist. He is a nontraditional undergrad student at UM-Dearborn and PhD candidate specializing in the philosophy of Thomas Reid and Al-Ghazali.

From 1984-1988 the Leonards served as church planters at Redlands Community Church (PCA) in Homestead, FL where John was the assistant pastor. From 1988-1998 they served in Montpellier, France with Arab World Ministries and the Presbyterian Church in America, working with North African Muslim immigrants. From 1999 to 2013 John taught Practical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Glenside, Pennsylvania.

John holds a B.A. in Greek and Christian Education from Belhaven College in Jackson, MS (class of 1973), an M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS (1977), and a Ph.D. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL (2006). His dissertation is entitled: Oasis: An Ethnography of a Muslim Convert Group in France. John is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America.