Logo

 

Banner Image:   Baptist-Times-banner-2000x370-
Template Mode:   Baptist Times
Icon
    Post     Tweet

Where was God when that happened? 

A book about tragedy 'did not resonate with my world and the regular, and almost daily, conversations I have with people in an acute hospital'

 


WherewasGodWhere was God when that happened?
By Christopher Ash
The Good Book Company
ISBN: 9781910307236
Reviewer: Derek Fraser 


This is a book with a title to catch the eye. It poses a question that few escape asking. Its presentation is in short bite size pieces. Its author has had pastoral experience over a number of years. He considers a variety of approaches to address the issue and provides seven ways that might be used to engage with the issue.

While the question of why suffering is a complex one, it is one that many have written about from a variety of theological positions. This author takes a very strong position around the concept that God is in control and builds his ideas almost exclusively on that. He goes so far as to posit that God governs over evil, God uses Satan as His instrument and that God directs evil powers. “God decrees that all manner of things shall happen, including evil things,” he writes. He controls and directs evil. 

Fundamentally I was left feeling this book was flawed in its thinking and it comes across as pastorally disconnected from people. It lacks connection, compassion and a clear place for prayer, pleading and ways of living faithfully in the face of suffering.

It is not enough to simply stress the theoretical and cerebral aspects of this issue that God is in control. There needs to be an engaging pastoral dynamic shown so people connect with the ideas proposed and the solutions offered. The book was cold comfort, combined with tortuous logic and one I would not want to recommend, least of all to someone struggling. The quoting of scriptural passages in a dip and pick manner to support a theological theses is not to grasp and present the authentic voice of scripture. It did not resonate with my world and the regular, and almost daily, conversations I have with people in an acute hospital.

A finer and more pastorally engaged book would be John Swinton’s Raging with Compassion. He blends scripture, life and pastoral sensitivity into a superb book that deserves careful attention.


Baptist minister the Revd Dr Derek J Fraser is Lead Chaplain at Addenbrooke's Hospital


 
Baptist Times, 09/02/2018
    Post     Tweet
Clever Cub Forgives a Friend, and Invites Someone New, by Bob Hartman  
Latest titles in series which takes the world of the child seriously and then tries to choose appropriate stories from the Bible to address their experiences - relevant and readable
The Hardest Problem: God, Evil and Suffering by Rupert Shortt 
'Not only helpful to Christians but worth passing on to thoughtful unbelievers who find the problem of evil and suffering an obstacle to belief'
Heroes or Villains by Jeannie Kendall 
'A gem of a book, thoughtfully and insightfully exploring the qualities we share with Bible characters'
Poverty, Riches and Wealth by Kris Vallotton
A book which makes you think with sections you might disagree with - but the golden thread that you are wealthy in proportion to your generosity, not according to your riches - is an excellent, Biblical principle
Lydia by Paula Gooder 
'Thoroughly recommended, not just as a historical novel, but also as a useful reference book kept close to the regularly-used commentaries'
Swansong by Jo-Anne Berthelsen
'This book certainly challenges us, but also encourages us that our words have real power to transform the lives of others'
     Reviews 
    Posted: 01/03/2024
    Posted: 22/09/2023