Answering the Toughest Questions about Suffering and Evil

I think that it is safe to say that we all have struggled with understanding God's role in the suffering and evil in our fallen world. It is something that can turn us away from God. It's something we struggle to explain to non-believers. 

Answering the Toughest Questions about Suffering and Evil was written by Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz in order to answer some of the questions we have all asked ourselves. If God created everything, did He also create evil? Why doesn't God eliminate suffering and evil? The authors collected and answered ten of the most popular questions they are asked on the subject.

I don't like not knowing or understanding things. So when I picked up this book, I wanted something along the lines of "God allows evil because blank as stated in the Bible here." I want simple, straightforward answers so I can fully understand. However, that is not the case here, and that is not the fault of the authors. It is due to the nature of the topic itself, and the fact that we are not meant to understand everything completely. The authors still do a wonderful job of offering theories and explanations in response to the questions.

Throughout each chapter are a ton of reflection and discussion questions. I would recommend keeping a journal to work through some of them, and leaving yourself time (in a quiet atmosphere) to really think about your answers. I especially appreciated that, in answer to the questions, the authors gave actual, researched and supported theories and exploration, rather than listing a bunch of fluffy verses about hope and not understanding God's ways.

Explaining topics such as this one to a Christian and to a non-Christian are two completely different things, and need to be handled and explained in very different ways. So, I really appreciated that the authors clarified that this book is directed and written for those who already believe in God, but have questions and trouble understanding how God fits in with evil. The tone of the writing was very friendly and enjoyable. 

Overall, I gave this book 3/5 stars. I highly recommend it to anyone who is struggling with these questions, or who may be going though a difficult time.

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher to review. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rainy Days

Image
Good morning, everyone! I woke up this morning to a dreary, rainy day. Wisconsin has been getting a whole lot of these lately (I think the weather knows how badly I want to go to England and is preparing me). While sunny days are so nice and you can actually go outside without getting soaked, rainy days are sometimes the best kinds of days. There are some great things about rainy days, such as... playing in puddles sitting under a soft blanket with a warm mug of hot chocolate and a good book thunderstorms at night getting to wear my cute pink polka dot rain boots getting to wear my matching pink coat using cute umbrellas wearing warm sweaters I really love the rain! What are your favorite things about rainy days? xx Heidi
Read more

52 Weeks In The Word by Trillia J Newbell | Review

Image
  52 Weeks in the Word  by Trillia J Newbell is a companion for those reading through the Bible in a year. This is not a study, the questions for each reading are the same. However, this book outlines a reading plan and questions to ask yourself as you read. This is designed to help you get in the Word, stay in the Word, and gain Biblical literacy. Each week has daily scripture readings, daily reflection questions, prayer prompts, space to write your own prayer, a weekly reflection on text from the reading, and a day of rest. There is no pressure - if you miss a day, just pick up again where you left off. You don't even need to read it in a year, you can use this guide for however long your read-through takes you. I think this would be a really helpful guide for someone trying to read through the Bible in a year. The reading plan is clear and manageable, and the book provides guidance and space to track your own observations. She also suggests switching up the way you read the Bibl
Read more

Know Own Change by Joshua Clemons & Hazen Stevens | Review

Image
  In their book Know Own Change , authors Joshua Clemons and Hazen Stevens urge readers to tear down racism and be united as one. Obviously (I should hope) everyone reading this review can agree that is something we all want. However, it's more difficult to know how we can get there. Throughout this book, the authors describe how we can reach this goal, and how doing so is how we can follow God's instruction for the world.  The authors describe how kingdom diversity and gospel-centered reconciliation is God's plan for the world, and how we can see that in Scripture. Gospel love says that our neighbor's problems become our own, so it is clear that we all have the responsibility to combat racism. They also explain the history of racism in America and the church, so we can understand what happened to get to where we are today.  The theme of this book is to know, own, and change. We need to understand the way racism continues to oppress our brothers and sisters, own our own
Read more