Book Review: The Question That Never Goes Away by Philip Yancey
Book Review: The Question That Never Goes Away by Philip Yancey
Being a sequel to Where Is God When It Hurts?, “The Question” in this book is basically the same one. Or along similar lines, why do bad things happen to good people?, or why does God allow evil to take its awful course?, or how could a good God possibly allow such a calamity? The question never seems to be about God causing the bad stuff, just about God permitting or allowing it to happen.
Philip Yancey uses one of his usual literary techniques—stories. He has stories from several modern catastrophes, especially from 2011-2013 from the United States and from around the globe. Most of them are heart-wrenching so be prepared for this. He includes stories from mass shootings, civil wars and natural disasters. Also included are snippets of interviews of victims and quotes from other Christians on the topic.
Some of the conclusions are that suffering can be redeemed and that suffering contributes to spiritual growth in Christians. Other conclusions seemed to be that Jesus reached out with healing and compassion (therefore, so should we) and that one basic overarching truth is that God is with us during any tragedy or suffering.
Two things are for sure when you read this book, one is that you will not come away with feeling sorry for yourself and two, you will be provoked to much thought, that is wondering, wondering, wondering.
I thought a few things needed more attention or were missing altogether. There was very little (as in, a couple of sentences at the most) about Christian persecution and about compassion. There was no mention of crisis intervention intercession. Could some of these tragedies be averted if more Christians prayed? Not addressed.
Even though I would have liked to see more on those topics (from the previous paragraph) there was still plenty to chew on, including ideas on what to say to hurting people. If you or someone you love is struggling with “The Question”, this book will be worthwhile for you to read.
To purchase your own copy of this book go here:The Question That Never Goes Away
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from publisher through the Booklookbloggers.com 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 Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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