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If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil |  | Author: Randy Alcorn
Publisher: Multnomah Books
Category: Book
List Price: $24.99
Buy New: $14.35
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Seller: zp_books
Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 4964
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 528
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.8
ISBN: 160142132X
Dewey Decimal Number: 231.8
EAN: 9781601421326
ASIN: 160142132X
Publication Date: September 15, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Every one of us will experience suffering. Many of us are experiencing it now. As we have seen in recent years, evil is real in our world, present and close to each one of us.
In such difficult times, suffering and evil beg questions about God--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?
These are ancient questions, but also modern ones as well. Atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and even former believers like Bart Ehrman answer the question simply: The existence of suffering and evil proves there is no God.
In this captivating new book, best-selling author Randy Alcorn challenges the logic of disbelief, and brings a fresh, realistic, and thoroughly biblical insight to the issues these important questions raise.
Alcorn offers insights from his conversations with men and women whose lives have been torn apart by suffering, and yet whose faith in God burns brighter than ever. He reveals the big picture of who God is and what God is doing in the world–now and forever. And he equips you to share your faith more clearly and genuinely in this world of pain and fear.
As he did in his best-selling book, Heaven, Randy Alcorn delves deep into a profound subject, and through compelling stories, provocative questions and answers, and keen biblical understanding, he brings assurance and hope to all.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 30
An Amazing Book November 18, 2009
Barbara Warren
My pastor mentioned a special book he treasured. He said if he ever faced an emergency where he had to leave home in a hurry he would take his Bible and that book. I couldn't think of any of my many books I loved that much. Then I opened If God Is Good by Randy Alcorn, and I understood what he meant.
I think most of us at some time have stumbled over the question of why bad things happen. Athiests use the world suffering as proof God doesn't exist. They claim that if He does exist, then He's neither loving or very powerful Randy Alcorn confronts that problem head on. He brings fresh, insightful and powerful answers to the questions about goodness and evil and he gives assurance that God is in control.
So, if an emergency arrives and I only have time to grab two of my books, I'll take my Bible and If God Is Good by Randy Alcorn. This should be required reading for all Christians.
A Definitive Word on a Difficult Question November 13, 2009
Keith Krell (Olympia, WA)
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.
An Amazing Look At Faith, Suffering, and Evil November 12, 2009
S. Peek (Rocky Mountains, USA)
This latest book by Randy Alcorn is one of the top five or six non-fiction books that I have ever read. It is one that should be read by all Christians as well as anyone who is considering the existence of God and/or the claims of Jesus Christ.
If that sounds rather far ranging, it is. This is a masterpiece that covers an incredible range of topics surrounding the central question: If God is good, why would He have created a world with so much evil and suffering.
As Alcorn shows, that very question says much about our incredible lack of perspective and limited knowledge. Oftentimes we humans (and probably Americans most of all) tend to view it as God's job to provide us with a smooth life. This is evident in the shallowness of our prayers (that are also way out of tune with those in Scripture).
The author discusses and provides examples of many good things that come out of evil and suffering including such things as being a wake up call to get our spiritual act together, increasing our faith, and being good witnesses for others. He provides many examples of those who have made a tremendous impact on unbelievers, potentially affecting their eternal destinies in the process. Some of the accounts he gives are just amazing. There are two in chapter 37 and another about Cory Ten Boom that are incredible.
Some of the related topics that are explored here include the following: Are people basically good or evil, free will versus God's sovereignty, God's omniscience compared to our limited knowlege, our attempts to apply human standards to the Creator of the Universe, the tendency to have an unbalanced view of God (stressing His love while neglecting His holiness), the importance of Hell, the 'health and wealth gospel', and much more. To say that this is packed full of great stuff would be a big understatement.
This phenomenol work has life changing potential for readers. It is absolutely packed with great stuff. I have been discussing various parts of it with co-workers daily for the last several days while reading it. It is so good, that I plan to buy several copies for Christmas gifts.
Buy a copy for yourself and one for a friend. Read it, study it, highlight a lot, and share it with many others.
A Well-Documented and Researched Work November 2, 2009
FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York)
Prolific evangelical author Randy Alcorn, whose book HEAVEN took the Christian reading audience by storm, now offers fans another riveting read. This time around, he writes on the often misunderstood and seemingly incongruent idea that if God is good, how can He allow pain and suffering and evil to persist on Earth? This weighty question is full of even weightier theological implications. But true to form, Alcorn takes each argument and every supposition, and very carefully searches out Scripture for accurate, timeless answers. What he finds will bring great comfort to Christians and non-Christ followers alike. Alcorn, as is his custom, writes with humility and deep regard for his readers' personal pain and confusion.
Alcorn opens this 11-section text with a primer on understanding the problem of evil and suffering and then immediately delves deeper by looking at evil from various vantage points, including its origins, nature and consequences. First, he quite methodically works through beliefs that non-theists hold regarding moral standards, goodness and extreme evil. Then, he enters into the beliefs of Christians and how they must reconcile the existence of evil with their limited understanding of God Himself. Oftentimes, Christ followers, in an attempt to "excuse" God from worldwide suffering, will opt to believe He has limited power, limited knowledge, limited goodness, or even limited love as ready solutions. However, none of these options is biblical, as Alcorn details and dissects point by point.
Not to be daunted by difficult theological topics, Alcorn deftly explains with astute skill how divine sovereignty and meaningful human choice plays into evil and suffering as well. Readers will also find his discussion on the eternal solutions to the problem of evil --- Heaven and Hell --- to be thought provoking. Certainly, a study on such difficult subject matters would not be complete without a comparable and equally strong segment on the benefits of suffering; here again, Alcorn succeeds marvelously.
Careful readers will appreciate Alcorn's strong arguments recognizing that much good does derive from personal and corporate suffering, character development, righteousness and "Christ-likeness" that would not be attained in any other way. He systematically describes how from a biblical worldview God has always utilized suffering for His glory, His followers' sanctification, to build character, to birth joy, compassion and hope, and as a means to bring good to others.
Closing up his meaty text, Alcorn offers substantial hope about finding God in the midst of suffering; finding help in the darkest of times, finding grace to ease others' suffering (while enduring one's own) and discovering death's curse and blessing.
If ever there was a friend to garner during a season of suffering, Randy Alcorn is the man to have by one's side. Readers from every side of the suffering argument will find something both intellectual and philosophical to draw from this well-documented and researched work.
--- Reviewed by Michele Howe
Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? October 14, 2009
Readers Favorite (Hawesville, KY USA)
There are many people who question the existence of God. The question "How could God let bad things happen to good people?" is asked time and time again. Evil is very real in our world. Randy Alcorn uses people's experiences in suffering along with biblical scriptures to prove the existence of God and evil. He shows how atheists own words prove what they are trying to disprove. He lays out what open theists think and shows in scripture where their thinking is flawed. This book will guide you through the scriptures to help you understand the undeniable existence and power of God.
What an excellent teaching tool. There were a few parts that were a little over my head. But, overall I thought Randy Alcorn did a very thorough job of proving the existence of God. There were several groups proclaiming the nonexistence and the weakness of God that I had never heard of. As a Christian I fully believe in God as all-powerful, all-knowing, the creator of all, the beginning and the end. The stories of suffering and how they shine the light on evil in this world were powerful. Suffering is definitely allowed to deepen our faith.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 30
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