Jonah's Judgment

"Jonah's Judgment," a parable of judgment and justice, is a modern retelling of the story of Jonah and his assignment to bring a warning to the doomed city of Ninevah. Involved is Jonah's dilemma in his duty to God's directive as opposed to his own hatred for Ninevah and its people. The lesson is that the Old Testament God, who is popularly believed to be angry, vengeful and punishing, desires to show mercy whereas the man Jonah, is bound by his own prejudices and sense of judgment; Jonah is self-willed and inflexible in his interpretation of God's system of justice. In this account Jonah spends 40 days traveling about Ninevah announcing the approaching destruction of the city. He confronts a variety of the citizens and leaders of the city with surprising reactions to his message. This parable, based on the O.T. book, "Jonah," believed to have been written in the 9th century B.C., demonstrates the ageless tendency of man to substitute his own concept of justice and God's purposes as seen even today among some of the world's most determined religions. The author, Robert W. Foster, is a retired civil engineer. In his (semi) retirement he continues to provide consulting services in dispute resolution and writes frequently for technical publications in the engineering and surveying disciplines. He has three sons and two grandsons. His wife of 47 years, Margot, died in 2001. He lives in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.