I'm looking for a resource that I can recommend to someone that addresses the issue of why God allows human suffering and evil.
Thanks - Ron
More from a counseling angle (i.e., the individual is personally suffering and struggling to understand why) or more from a philosophical/apologetic angle (i.e., the individual is grappling with how a good, omnipotent God could exist in a world of evil and suffering)?
I don't know what your or their theological persuasion is, but perhaps God and the Problem of Evil: Five Views, Spectrum Multiview Books (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2017) would be a good starting point.
I have benefited from Where Is God When It Hurts by Philip Yancey.
https://www.logos.com/product/22625/where-is-god-when-it-hurts
Thanks for the responses.
They are more from a philosophical/apologetic angle. They see the suffering of others and are trying to make sense of how God could allow these things to happen.
John Piper’s “Christ & Coronavirus” is a pretty good read, it’s short & simple, & to boot, I think it may still be free here on Logos.
Christensen, Scott. What About Evil? A Defense of God’s Sovereign Glory.
Welty, Greg. Why Is There Evil in the World (And So Much of It)?
I found God at War by Gregory Boyd to provide some helpful background on the way Scripture views the question.
I found If God, Why Evil?: A New Way to Think about the Question by Norman Geisler to be a valuable resource.
CS Lewis’ The Problem of Pain and A Grief Observed might help.
However, if you want specifically FL versions, you can’t get them outside of a set.
Now that we're past the best books (and hopefully the answer), there's also Ehrman's book:
God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question--Why We Suffer
I just bought it ... this thread ... mainly I wanted to understand exactly what 'fails' (Ehrman associates suffering with his loss of faith). He's going through the Biblical reasons, chapter and verse.
Now that we're past the best books (and hopefully the answer), there's also Ehrman's book: God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question--Why We Suffer I just bought it ... this thread ... mainly I wanted to understand exactly what 'fails' (Ehrman associates suffering with his loss of faith). He's going through the Biblical reasons, chapter and verse.
Maybe one day Faithlife will see their way to producing Ehrman's books. This thread question is precisely why having Ehrman's books in Logos would be good. He's arguing the other side of an important question. This is what people are reading so pastors should be reading him too and offering a sensitive and informed response.
Now that we're past the best books
Well maybe not, I've been waiting for someone to bring up these gems:
Two more:
Why Does God Allow Evil? Compelling Answers for Life’s Toughest Questions | Logos Bible Software
If God, Why Evil?: A New Way to Think about the Question | Logos Bible Software
Well maybe not, I've been waiting for someone to bring up these gems: Why Do We Suffer?: A Scriptural Approach to the Human Condition by Daniel Harrington When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold S. Kushner
After Ehrman wound his way through the various Biblical 'why sufferings' (of which, there's quite a few), near the end, he spent several (digital) pages on Kushner. Probably badly reading, but my impression was that some explanations are simply hopeful. Ehrman ended in Ecclesiates (again, hopefully not mistating).
Since we're suggesting non-Logos resources, there's this one: On Job: God-Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent
After Ehrman wound his way through the various Biblical 'why sufferings' (of which, there's quite a few), near the end, he spent several (digital) pages on Kushner.
Kushner is essential reading for (a) the best-seller popularity of his volume and (b) for an authentically Jewish version within real life. I would not expect Ehrmann to be sympathetic to Kushner as they have quite different agendas running their lives. But I may pick up Ehrmann specifically to get his take of Kushner.
Christensen, Scott. What About Evil? A Defense of God’s Sovereign Glory. Welty, Greg. Why Is There Evil in the World (And So Much of It)?
Agreed
Also
https://www.logos.com/product/166470/if-god-why-evil-a-new-way-to-think-about-the-question
https://www.logos.com/product/145459/why-does-god-allow-evil-compelling-answers-for-lifes-toughest-questions
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