Quick book thoughts this Monday morn.

25. How Long, O Lord? by D.A. Carson. A superbly brilliant book on evil and suffering. Carson looks at a topic that is not an easy one and with a pastoral heart and incisive mind attempts to put forth a Christian framework for understanding the horrors we daily see around us in this world in which we live. I would argue that Carson succeeds and my heart was very much encouraged reading this one. This is one of the biggest problems many people have with the idea of God or of Christianity. If there is a God that is so loving, then why evil? Then why suffering? Then why so many horrible things do I see on the news each and every day? Carson does not diminish or downplay the evils we see in this world, if anything, some of the examples he gives of severe suffering and loss are almost too much to read. Yet Carson also very much wants to look at this hard topic from a Biblical perspective and explore what the Bible has to say about suffering and evil but most importantly of all, what does the Bible say about the God who is in the midst of us, even now sustaining and holding this world together through his sovereign power. Does the presence of God in this world mean he smiles upon the darkness that swirls over the face of it? May it never be. Does the presence of evil upon the world that God has made mean God is incapable of holding it back? May it never be. Does this impinge upon the nature of God and the love that we so rightly ascribe to Him? Absolutely not.

This book is one that I shall revisit. Carson does not write this book as a balm or aid for those currently going through suffering (a fact that he reiterates), but rather – he writes this book as a preventative, a book to aid the Christian in understanding the problem of evil and suffering and how the God we worship yet reigns, rules and loves us still. This book is written to give us a higher idea of God and yet still encourage us that we have a Father who cares for even the smallest concern we have. The author acknowledges and leans into the mysteries that we cannot now fully understand (if ever) and is so concerned to rightly place those mysteries, which he locates in the very nature of God which our limited minds cannot fully grasp. The author is very much concerned that we not assign to God that which is not assigned to Him in Scripture and he is very much concerned that we do not contradict that about God which is fully asserted in Scripture. I very much appreciate Carson’s reliance and leaning into the Scriptural text and how it informs us of the God who is.

This is not a book written for those who do not know and love God, though I think it would be an interesting book for a non-Christian to read as it gives an insight into the Christian perspective on evil and suffering and how we as Christians grapple with such. For myself, I found myself profoundly encouraged by this one and seek to use it as Carson intended, strengthening and buttressing my understanding of this topic so that even as I go through trials and tribulations in my life yet to come, I will have a Biblical understanding of suffering and the God who is yet present. The chapter on Job alone was worth the price of admission. Very grateful for authors who write with such clarity of thought yet also such an overflow of empathy and compassion, even seeking to show us how we can best be with those who are suffering even now. It is rare to find such a balance. I cannot recommend this one enough.