If God Is Good: Faith in a World of Suffering and Evil

It was okay

It is a good pointed overview of Christianitys veiw of evil in the world. I personally didnt find it useful but to someone who is unfamiliar with the subject would find it very enlightening.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I felt compelled to write a review of my own....

Although I have ALSO not read this book yet, I will because I read EVERYTHING
Randy Alcorn writes... I felt compelled to respond to the review by the so called reviewer who made a glaring, presumption about the book...although he himself has admittedly not read it.
The funniest part is, he condemned the book because he said the author made "presumptions about atheists" without having learned about them, or having "done their homework". Hmmmm nothing like
condemning a book and an author you haven't read yourself! So, I'm reading it to spite the atheist, who obviously felt threatened by merely reading the synopsis. At least read the book before you condemn it! That goes for the Bible too.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

misquoting Dawkins & Hitchens

This book is not out yet. I have not read it, obviously. In the synopsis posted here, he(presumably the author and/or editors) glaringly misrepresent the Atheist Lobby. This is a trend I have noticed more and more amongst Christian writing, authors who have either not actually read the atheists' works (at best), or willfully mispresented them (at worst).
Come on, christians! Do your homework.

1 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

PLEASE READ. VERY GREAT AUTHOR, RANDY ALCORN

dEAR READERS, TO READ CHRISTIAN BOOKS IS SOMETIOMES HAR TO DO, AND SOMETIMES WE CAN GET LOST, BUT DONT GIVE UP. KEEP ON UNTIL YOU FIND AN AUTHOR YOU CAN RELATE TO, BUT DONT GIVE UP LATER ON SOME READS, BECAUSE THE READS YOU DO, WILL MEET YOU RIGHT WHEN YOU NEED IT. THIS BOOK IS WELL WORTH YOUR TIME, AND WILL HELP YOU IN TIMES WHEN YOU NEED IT THE MOST. EVEN IF YOU DONT NEED IT THIS MOMENT, YOU MAY IN THE FUTURE, AND IT WILL LIFT YOU UP. KNOWLEDGE IS GREAT TO HAVE, AND GOD IS THE BEGINNER AND THE FINISHER!!!!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

One of the best books about keeping faith during life's trials

I don¿t know how many times I have heard people say, ¿If God is so good then why does he allow suffering and pain?¿ but it is a lot. I think it is a good and valid question and is not easily answered. There are a number of books out today that deal with this question and as far as I am concerned most of them are not very good. They spend so much time making excuses for God or use philosophical analogies that don¿t necessarily pertain to the trueness of God. However, when I picked up Randy Alcorn¿s ¿If God Is Good¿¿ I found this book to be one of the best, most comprehensive and honest books on the issue of suffering and evil. Alcorn brings a fresh and biblical perspective to these issues and does so in an easy to read format that is loaded with scripture references to back up his findings. He also uses many examples of men and women throughout history whose lives have been affected greatly by pain, suffering and evil and still have a faith (although challenged at times) that remains stronger than ever.

¿If God Is Good¿¿ is an excellent read for anyone who is struggling with the question of why God allows suffering and pain. It is also a great companion for those in the midst of suffering and trials in their own lives presently. It¿s not a light read as it is nearly 500 pages but is worth the time investment.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

Very Thought Provoking - worth reading!

If God Is Good is a great new book by Randy Alcorn. The book is divided into 11 sections and is a thought-provoking read. The beginning of the book focuses on evil, describing it as a "departure from goodness" and shifts to suffering. While the book is long, spanning 494 pages, it is divided into fairly short chapters that break up the dialogue about evil and suffering. Alcorn presents a great point,
"It's easy to blame God for not doing all he can to stop evil and suffering. But consider that he has graciously allowed the world to continue while postponing final judgment. Consider that he has put us in this world with a mission that includes resisting evil and relieving suffering. Consider that he has entrusted us with vast resources to carry out that mission. We might just want to ask if we, and not God, are to blame."
I would highly recommend this book for those who are currently in a season of suffering, who are discouraged by natural disasters, wars, and disease, but even for those who have questions about evil and suffering. Alcorn reminds his readers that God is God and we are not. He has had a plan of redemption from the beginning and while we all suffer for a short time on this earth, and in different ways, that God promises Heaven for those that are His.
*I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.*

Comforting and challenging in places, but there are better books out there.

Note: If I sound academic in this post it is because there were too many ideas floating in my head, and I chose to go with a few quick bullet-points. Suffering and evil are hard topics especially when we're in the middle of walking through real life horrors. I beg grace for the non-chalant tone of this review.

Summary: Randy Alcorn wrote If God is Good to show that suffering and evil do not prove that God is bad. Instead, Alcorn argues that suffering and evil manifest the glory of God and the goodness of God.

A few thoughts:

1. I believe the book is rather long and Alcorn could have condensed the content considerably without losing much, if any, of the material arguments or encouraging anecdotes.

2. Alcorn mixes rock solid arguments with weak arguments to (I think, in some cases) arguments built on sand. This may seem to, in places, weaken the rock solid arguments.

3. The end of the book was the better part of the book because it was filled with encouraging anecdotes and principles with which we can battle the sense of abandonment in the midst of great loss and BIG evil. The beginning was more about theodicy (the problem of evil) and I'm just worn out by theodicy, so it was not as interesting to me. I have thought a lot about theodicy and believe and know that Jesus is the answer, the cross is the answer, so now I am at the stage where I want to have greater faith in and belief in the cross of Christ. The argument is over. Let the hope-building and strength-conditioning begin.

4. The format of the book was somewhat confusing. And very confusing at times. The book is somewhat schizophrenic in this way: Alcorn will begin ideas, but then quickly leave off, as if he got a phone call from a more interesting person.

5. Alcorn shares many interesting stories of believers facing great evil and suffering with faith in God's death and resurrection. However, he uses many stories that have been told and retold in the evangelical world, so for me (and for others like me) the stories were familiar and thus lacked the power they had when I first heard them. Also, these stories are anecdotes, not full-length histories, so there's a sense of, "but how did these people struggle with the suffering and evil in the actual events of the loss, of the evil?" This is a downside to telling so many anecdotes, the author cannot share as much depth of information.

6. The judgement: In places, this book was very comforting and challenging. But I think there are better books out there.

The purpose of the book was to show that God is good even in the midst of suffering and evil, but it cannot replace the need mourners have for genuine love from people, in Christ. Please do not give this book to friends who are in the midst of great pain. Rather give them your presence, your love, and your trust in Jesus, who was and is and will forever remain the good and holy and loving God.

We see and judge our suffering in the light of our suffering God. The God who became a man and suffered for the evils of His own enemies so that His enemies might become His adopted children. In this is love.

I received this book free from the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

The closest thing to an answer that I've found

"I lost the money I had set aside for rent. He knows where it is. If he wanted to help me, He could."

Maybe you've never lost an envelope full of cash, and maybe your most recent struggle was a much bigger deal than what I experienced the week I began reading this book, but certainly there have been times in your life when your thoughts have lead you to this uncomfortable and trailing thought:

"He could fix this mess in an instant, but I am still in this mess..." What does that say about God?

I implore you to find out. In the book, If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil, by Randy Alcorn, you can learn about what it means when the scriptures declare that God is Good. You might be surprised at what you learn inside the covers of this book

The author quotes John Piper as saying:

"The suffering of the utterly innocent and infinitely holy Son of God in the place of the utterly undeserving sinners to bring us to everlasting joy is the greatest display of the glory of God's grace that ever was, or ever could be. Everything leading to it and everything flowing from it is explained by it, including all the suffering in the world."

I have yet to read a more exhaustive treatment on the goodness of God and how it reconciles with his sovereignty in the midst of a world that is full of sin and evil and suffering.

As a child, I'd ask my mom why I couldn't have my way in a situation and more than not, she'd reply, "Because I said so." I have always answered any questions I had regarding why God allows suffering in the same way: Because He said so. I've never doubted God's goodness, but I'd never thought to learn about it, either.

I chose to read this book expecting to find a glossed over, heard-it-all-before compilation of thoughts and opinions. I expected to read it a day. Two days if I had to go grocery shopping or volunteer at the kids' school.

A full month later, and I'm just wrapping it up. I've never come across a book that was equal parts dense and fascinating.

This book addresses free will, the sovereignty of God, the origins of sin, heaven and hell. This book asks tough questions like:

*If God is all-knowing, why did He create Lucifer to begin with - He had to know he would fall from grace.

*If God is good, why does He allow all this suffering?

*If God is sovereign, then why does he allow us to make choices that He knows will cause harm?

He also addresses different belief systems and what they have to say about Yahweh. Then he shows you what the bible says about Yahweh.

In addition to many stories and real-life experiences that he recounts for us - both from current events and from history past - this book is also beautifully rich in scriptural evidences to support each section.

It is a lengthy book that most won't be able to breeze through, but aside from the scriptures themselves, I've rarely encountered a book that has so thoroughly changed my understanding of God. I no longer ask, "Why isn't God intervening?" Instead, I see each struggle as part of God's good and redemptive plan for my life.

If God is Good

This is a solid, thought-provoking, and well-written book.

If God is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil deals with the prime questions people ask today:
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?

The book is laid out well, I would suggest if you are going to take the journey through this book which will be on my top ten list, I would use it as a devotional, reading a chapter a day for each section is short enough to read in one sitting.
Alcorn deals with this tough subject using God's Word as his textbook and real life examples of people he knows and has interviewed. He never minimizes the evil, suffering and hurt of those he uses as illustrations, but sees them as heroes of the faith who have clung to God in the midst of deepest valleys.
Some section titles include Understanding the Problem of Evil and Suffering, The Origin of Evil..., Proposed Solutions..., Living Meaningfully in Suffering, Why Does God Allow Suffering?

This book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing

If God is Good

The 512 page book, If God is Good by Randy Alcorn, published by Multnomah publishers, is among the most complete and exaustive Christian commentaries covering the most basic philosophical issues and questions about faith, suffering, evil and life in general. Countless numbers of people have questioned God's motives or God's goodness in the face of pain, suffereing and injustice. It is within our human natures to be appalled by the suffering prevelant in the world we live in. We can not escape pain, sickness, injustice and suffering within our own lives and the world around us- it is a fact of life. In fact, many seemingly good and otherwise reasonable people, when faced with the seemingly complex questions about the purpose and reason of suffering may often come to the conclusion that God does not exist- hence the all too common epidemic of athiesm and agnosticism. When faced with challanges and pain in life, so many people fall away or abandon their faith.

Randy Alcorn addresses the most basic questions concerning the reasons and purpose behind pain and suffering, based on scriptural explanations. It is somewhat analagous to a defence of the bible, and it provides indepth explanation of the reasons and purpose behind pain and suffering. This book does not in any way minimise or dismiss pain and suffering, but it offers the comforting biblical explanations for its purpose. This book is way too extensive to be considered a self help book. In fact it is reminiscent of a textbook- with the extensive information provided and additional content. There are some anecdotes and real life stories of pain and suffering, which are used as examples through out the book but the author does not rely on his own personal anectdotes, which so many lukewarm writers seem to do these days just for filler purposes.

This compendium is divided into 11 indepth sections, each of which delve progressively deeper into the issues and theology of the purpose of evil and suffering. The first section provides a good background into the philosophical issues of suffering and evil and each section which follows, progessively covers verious touchpoints building on the previous chapters. Sections are further divided into chapters, and each chapter is subdivided in easily digested passages. This book is very complete and does not leave out any details whatsoever. Not only for the inquisitive and curious skeptic, philosophy student or secular reader in general, this faith building book is sure to provide comfort for anyone going through a difficult time, or anyone who has some unanswered questions about their faith and God's purpose. Next to the bible, this book should be standard reading for anyone interested in seeking out the meaning and purpose to life. This book would be great for apologetics as well. This is not simply a casual book to be read once, but it is also a book that can be used as a reference by which to defend one's faith and belief as well. As a blogger for Water Brook Multnomah publishers I recieved this book for the purposes of writing a review.

The Paradox of Christianity

It seems a fair question, doesn't it? If God is truly good, as Christians insist, then how can there be so much suffering in the world? Since ancient times this question has led skeptics to believe that God cannot, must not, exist. Even today's so-called New Atheists show how little is really knew when they use the existence of suffering and evil as a linchpin of their arguments against God's existence. Quite simply, they say, if suffering and evil exist, then God must not. Yet though people have wrestled with this question and allowed it to drive them from the faith, many more have wrestled with it and have come to the conclusion that God does exist despite suffering. They have found that suffering is God's invitation to trust in him and to hold out hope for a better world to come.

In the Introduction, aptly titled The Search We All Share, we read this:
A Barna Research poll asked, "If you could ask God only one question and you knew he would give you an answer, what would you ask?" The most common response was,"Why is there pain and suffering in the world?" This isn't merely a problem, it's the problem. As for the culture at large, it appears to pose a greater difficulty now than ever.
If God Is Good is the latest book from Randy Alcorn who is probably best-known for his last major release, Heaven, which has sold well over a half million copies in hardcover. Weighing in at 512 pages, this is a good-sized hardcover that offers a thorough examination and defense of faith in the midst of suffering and evil.

The topic Alcorn deals with in this book is a particularly difficult one. Humility and practicality, trademarks of his ministry, are evident in the books earliest pages. "If I thought I had no helpful perspectives on the problem, it would be pointless for me to write this book. If I imagined I had all the answers neatly lined up, it would be pointless for you to read it." He seeks to get right to the bottom of the subject and, as we learn, a sound theology of suffering touches upon many different areas. I found this book to be a great resource. I really

A Definitive Word on a Difficult Question

The single most difficult question for Christians to answer is: "Why would a loving and good God allow such suffering in this world?" Many Christians feel utterly incapable of responding to anyone who poses this question. Moreover, many Christians privately have their own personal struggles over this issue. Fortunately, Randy Acorn has written, If God is Good. As a pastor, I have read many books on this critical topic; however, I have found Alcorn's work the most satisfying. Alcorn combines sound theology with relevant application. The book is filled with Scripture, interviews, illustrations, and critiques. Throughout it all, Alcorn is humble, gracious, and transparent. For the Christian who is seeking to be able to finish the statement, If God is Good. this book is a must read.

If God is Good is also a must read for skeptics, critics, and spiritual seekers. In brief and readable chapters, Alcorn addresses every relevant objection or question dealing with human suffering. For the individual who is seeking to disprove theism, Alcorn's work must not be ignored. For the person who is genuinely searching out answers, Alcorn's book will be a welcomed oasis of truth.

I have enjoyed soaking in If God is Good. This exceptional book has further transformed my mind and heart. While I've always shared Alcorn's confidence in theism and sovereignty, as I read his book, I felt like I was studying these concepts for the first time. I strongly recommend this book as a perfect Christmas or graduation gift. I also highly recommend this book as a resource for high school and college students and small group Bible studies. I am confident that If God is Good will be one book that you will return to again and again.

Timely Subject

Since the release of "The Shack" and "Finding God in the Shack", there has been a renewed focus on an old problem. The problem involves the apparent existence of evil in a world created by an all-good, all-powerful, all-knowing God. There are lots of possible answers, each involving some modification of our understanding of God or of evil, and each (it must be admitted) carrying with it its own unique problems.

I wonder how willing readers will be to accept the self-imposed limitations on God having to do with logic. Are these any consolation for those in need of consolation? Are they any explanation for the existence of evil?

Alcorn answers the titular question comprehensively

If God is Good by Randy Alcorn is a stunning must read. Recent years have seen several books attacking Christianity, and much of the arguments against the existence of God are based upon the presence of evil and suffering within the world.Alcorn spent years pulling together materials to support his thesis that of course God is good, and that He has a reason for the suffering we face. Through liberal usage of Scripture as well as commentaries by lots of theologians, he offers case after case for the goodness of God. I kept a pen and pad of paper next to me while reading this book, because there is an astonishing amount of wisdom here. For Christians struggling with this issue themselves, this offers answers. For those suffering, it offers hope, and for those who question God on this basis, it will force them to question their certainty. This is a book you truly need to read for yourself because it is certain to become a pivotal book in Christian theology.

Highly Recommend this Book

I was just astonished when I first started reading this book. There have been many times in my life where I've questioned God and things regarding suffering. This book has really challenged my old ways and helped me learn new ways of looking at how God created us, how the world fell short with sin and how we can become closer to Him through our suffering.. I would HIGHLY recommend this book whether you question suffering and God's role in it or not.. It will definitely work on drawing you closer to the one true God..

Have you ever suffered?

In the book, Randy Alcorn states, "Our failure to teach a biblical theology of suffering leaves Christians unprepared for harsh realities. It also leaves our children vulnerable to history, philosophy, and global studies classes that raise the problems of evil and suffering while denying the Christian worldview. Since the question will be raised, shouldn't Christian parents and churches raise it first and take people to Scripture to see what God says about it.
Most of us don't give focused thought to evil and suffering until we experience them. This forces us to formulate perspective on the fly, at a time when our thinking is muddled and we're exhausted and consumed by pressing issues. Readers who have "been there" will attest that it's far better to think through suffering in advance."

I totally believe we need to teach our children and growing teens about these issues. It is so sad to see young adults enter colleges and be swayed by the world's talk into accepting illogical assumptions about life. They should be better prepared to understand logically and mentally what and why they believe in God. I am so encouraged by the Truth Project put out by Focus on the Family. It is a great basis in understanding the Christian Worldview. This book will help cover another basic area about the evil and suffering in the world we live in. God is not afraid to cover these tough subjects, and "the Christian worldview is the only one that adequately deals with evil and suffering."

This is a book worth its money. A great book for families, students, individuals dealing with suffering, or those who might someday suffer. :-)

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