Suffering and the Goodness of God (Theology in Community)
Overview
Famine, sickness, terrorist attacks, natural disasters—each day horrific scenes of suffering stream before us via television, the Internet, and newspapers. Believers are taught that God is good, and they believe this truth. Yet when faced with suffering and hardships, the one question believers are most often asked is, why?
Suffering and the Goodness of God brings insight to many contemporary concerns of suffering by outlining Old and New Testament truths and tackling difficult questions about God’s sovereignty, human freedom, and the nature of evil. This volume offers believers biblical truths concerning suffering, and then challenges them to promote justice in the harsh, unsure world around them, and emulate God’s grace as they minister to those who are suffering.
Save more when you purchase this book as part of the Theology in Community Series.
- Grounds content in both Old and New Testaments
- Brings insight to many contemporary concerns of suffering
- Provides content accessible to pastors, students, and laypeople alike
- “Christ and the Crocodiles: Suffering and the Goodness of God in Contemporary Perspective” by Robert W. Yarbrough
- “Suffering and the Goodness of God in the Old Testament,” by Walter C. Kaiser Jr.
- “Eight Kinds of Suffering in the Old Testament” by Walter C. Kaiser Jr.
- “Suffering and the Goodness of God in the Gospels” by Dan G. McCartney
- “Suffering in the Teaching of the Apostles” by Dan G. McCartney and Robert A. Peterson
- “The Problem of Evil” by John M. Frame
- “Suffering and Oppression” by William Edgar
- “Poems in the Park: My Cancer and God’s Grace” by David B. Calhoun
- “A Journey in Suffering: Personal Reflections on the Religious Problem of Evil” by John S. Feinberg
Top Highlights
“In fact, these strong communal ties are one of the greatest helps amidst the sense of isolation that suffering brings. Lamentations does not give easy answers, for there are none, but it deals honestly with the pain and binds the suffering community together as they encounter God in the midst of their grief.” (Page 57)
“Therefore, if we are to gain a balanced view of the problem of pain and suffering, it must be considered in the context of the goodness of God.” (Page 48)
“Its most basic definition is that retributive suffering is that kind of suffering that comes as a result of sin because sin must call down the judgment of God. If God is the one and only righteous and just judge of the whole world (Ps. 7:8–10; 58:10–11; 82:1–4; Prov. 16:10–11), then as surely as one man’s righteousness will be rewarded, another man’s unrighteousness will be punished.” (Page 68)
“What Christians at large can do is in some ways greater in scope and extent. They can bear their circumstances, including the painful ones, in ways that testify to God’s goodness even if that testimony is rendered through tears. This may be as effective an apologetic for the goodness of the God they serve as anything else they could do or say.” (Page 41)
“God never promised to give you tomorrow’s grace for today. He only promised today’s grace for today, and that’s all you need!’ In that one comment I was reminded both of God’s grace and of my need to take each day one at a time.” (Page 225)
When people are hurting they need biblical answers, not platitudes. Here the editors and authors have thoroughly combed the Scriptures to give us the answers we need in tough times. This book should help both those who are suffering and those called upon to comfort and encourage others in their suffering.
—Jerry Bridges, author of The Pursuit of Holiness
The skeptic chides: ‘If God is good, he is not God; if God is God, he is not good.’ With Scripture to answer the pain of real life questions, and with real life pain to question Scripture, these theologians address the hardest questions with honesty, tenderness, and deep truth.
—Bryan Chapell, president emeritus, Covenant Theological Seminary; senior pastor, Grace Presbyterian Church, Peoria, Illinois
- Title: Suffering and the Goodness of God
- Authors: Christopher W. Morgan, Robert A. Peterson
- Series: Theology in Community
- Volume: 1
- Publisher: Crossway
- Print Publication Date: 2008
- Logos Release Date: 2014
- Pages: 256
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Bible › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Suffering › Biblical teaching; Theodicy › Biblical teaching
- ISBNs: 9781581348590, 9781433504785, 9781433504792, 1581348592, 1433504782, 1433504790
- Resource ID: LLS:SFFRNGGDNSSGD
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T02:57:17Z
Christopher W. Morgan is professor of theology and dean of the School of Christian Ministries at California Baptist University. He holds a PhD from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author and editor of several books including Hell under Fire.
Robert A. Peterson holds a PhD from Drew University and is professor of systematic theology at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. He is the author and editor of numerous books including Calvin and the Atonement.