Release Date: June 17, 2014
Pages: 528
Genre: Religion/Theology
Book Description: Every one of us will experience suffering. Many of us are experiencing it now. As we have seen in recent years, evil is real in our world, present and close to each one of us.
In such difficult times, suffering and evil beg questions about God--Why would an all-good and all-powerful God create a world full of evil and suffering? And then, how can there be a God if suffering and evil exist?
These are ancient questions, but also modern ones as well. Atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and even former believers like Bart Ehrman answer the question simply: The existence of suffering and evil proves there is no God.
In this captivating new book, best-selling author Randy Alcorn challenges the logic of disbelief, and brings a fresh, realistic, and thoroughly biblical insight to the issues these important questions raise.
Alcorn offers insights from his conversations with men and women whose lives have been torn apart by suffering, and yet whose faith in God burns brighter than ever. He reveals the big picture of who God is and what God is doing in the world–now and forever. And he equips you to share your faith more clearly and genuinely in this world of pain and fear.
"As he did in his best-selling book, Heaven, Randy Alcorn delves deep into a profound subject, and through compelling stories, provocative questions and answers, and keen biblical understanding, he brings assurance and hope to all."
-Publishers Weekly
Wanda's Thoughts:
If God is Good --- why do we have pain and suffering? If God loves us, how can he justify all the world suffering? And why do evil people sometimes thrive while the righteous suffers? Why wouldn’t a loving God rid the universe of evil?
If God Is Good contains many stories of people’s challenges and suffering and their triumphs. Some, who have suffered deeply, now have a wonderful relationship with God. God revealed treasures to them that can only be found in the darkness of suffering. When suffering comes, we should ask God to use it for his glory. We are promised that the eternal ending will bring glorious happiness and that all present suffering will pale in comparison. We can rejoice for that coming day when there will be no more death and suffering.
Disasters can bring out the best in people. We cannot see the end that God has in mind, but we can be sure that God’s unfailing love will never let us down, no matter how bleak things appear. We might wish for a world untouched by evil and suffering, but eternal happiness cannot happen without it. We must realize that if God allowed less evil in the world, there would also be less good.
Many times God will deliver us from suffering, and sometimes he will sustain us through suffering. He can calm the storm, and sometimes calms our hearts, and we should praise him for these acts of grace. But we must have faith and trust that God can bring good from all suffering. In the end, Jesus Christ is the answer to all the suffering and evil in the world. We need to remember that Jesus has written this story in his own blood.
From the book – God wrote the script of the unfolding drama of redemption long before Satan, demons, Adam and Eve – and you and I – took the stage. And from the beginning, he knew that the utterly spectacular ending would make the dark middle worth it.
If God is Good is truly a journey of discovery and will answer many of your questions on pain and suffering. I have highlighted many sections of this book and will be keeping it on my shelf for reference and continual reading. My rating is 4+ stars.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.
About the Author: Randy Alcorn is the founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM), a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching biblical truth and drawing attention to the needy and how to help them. EPM exists to meet the needs of the unreached, unfed, unborn, uneducated, unreconciled and unsupported people around the world.
"My ministry focus is communicating the strategic importance of using our earthly time, money, possessions and opportunities to invest in need-meeting ministries that count for eternity," Alcorn says. "I do that by trying to analyze, teach and apply the implications of Christian truth."
Before starting EPM in 1990, Alcorn co-pastored for thirteen years Good Shepherd Community Church outside Gresham, Oregon. He has ministered in many countries, including China, and is a popular teacher and conference speaker. Randy has taught on the part-time faculties of Western Seminary and Multnomah University, both in Portland, Oregon.
Randy is a best-selling author of over 40 books including Heaven, The Treasure Principle and the 2002 Gold Medallion winner, Safely Home. He has written numerous articles for magazines such as Discipleship Journal, Moody, Leadership, New Man, and The Christian Reader. He produces the quarterly issues-oriented magazine Eternal Perspectives, and has been a guest on more than 650 radio and television programs including Focus on the Family, Family Life Today, The Bible Answer Man, Revive Our Hearts, Truths that Transform and Faith Under Fire.
Alcorn resides in Gresham, Oregon with his wife, Nanci, and their Dalmatian, Moses. The Alcorns have two married daughters, Karina and Angela.
Randy and Nanci are the proud grandparents of four grandsons. Randy enjoys hanging out with his family, biking, tennis, research and reading.
Taken from the Eternal Perspective Ministries website, http://www.epm.org
No comments:
Post a Comment