Tags
book give away, book giveaway, Christian beliefs, Christian books, Christianity, faith and doubt, Faith and Suffering, God and evil, Randy Alcorn
I recently finished a series of posts on the issue of faith and suffering. (See the category section.) It is a complex issue, and although I attempted to cover all of the main concerns, it could really be a never-ending discussion.
In my intro post on faith and suffering, I recommended
three books. One of which was: If God is Good, Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil, by Randy Alcorn. I acquired an extra copy of this book, and would be pleased to give it away. Please note the book is used, but is in good used condition.
If you are not a “reader” I really don’t suggest this book to you as it is 500 pages long. Even if you are a reader, 500 pages can none-the-less be intimidating but don’t let the length scare you off! Although Alcorn covers just about every major issue and perspective on this complex problem, he does it in a highly readable way. Tim Challies wrote an excellent review of this book which you can check out here.
If you’d like to have a chance to win a copy of this book, simply leave a brief comment and mention why you would appreciate this book. I’ll pick one winner on October 15, 2011.
By the way, I’m a little blog with a smaller readership, so your chance of winning should be quite good! Last book give-away I had only 2 people entered – so your chances could be as good as 50/50!! I am jealous! The book give-aways I enter usually have hundreds of entries…
I pray that this book may help someone who is perhaps intellectually struggling to reconcile the issue of God and evil, or someone who has endured suffering and wonders where God is in all of it. This book would also be helpful to someone in Christian ministry, as the problem of God and suffering is an issue that those in ministry will confront first hand.
Enough Light 
That book sounds interesting. I am mostly interested in this as a source for providing a caring response to those who are suffering. I am often bothered by the trite answers Christians give to those in pain. Often I think silence and compassion would be more helpful.
Yvette, if you happen to see this response. I recently picked up a copy of “Where is God when it hurts” by Phillip Yancey. You said you were mostly interested in the book give-away as a source for providing a caring response to those who are suffering. I think Yancey’s book would be better for this aspect than Alcorn’s book. In fact, Yancey’s book has several chapters at the end specifically about how to respond to and help the hurting. If you would like this book, contact me with your address and I’ll gladly mail it to you.
I would like to read this book as I seek to further define a personal theodicy. I anticipate this book helping the church I serve. The thought that evil and God can coexist stump a lot of the people I encounter on a regular basis. This would make a great addition to my library. DM.
This was already on list of must gets. My journey into the study of suffering began several years ago when I felt the reason some Christians lacked ‘spiritual muscle’ was because of their diet of comfort oriented teachings.
First came “When God Doesn’t Make Sense” by Dr. James Dobson, then “Suffering and the Soveriegnty of God” from Desiring God, many sermons on Job and “When God Weeps” by Joni Eareckson-Tada.
I’ve told my congregation that ‘suffering is the missing ingredient of the victorious Christian’. Of course I’m not saying to look for suffering, but since God directs and controls it when we fall into it, we can have the confident assurance to trust him in keeping the pressures of suffering from ultimately crushing us. We can also trust him to use our faith in Christ while we suffer to be a beacon to others who have no hope in this world.
I would really enjoy having this book, “If God is Good” added to my growing study of pain, suffering and the goodness of god.
Thanks everyone for entering, and for sharing why you would appreciate this book. I decided to do this the old fashioned way, and wrote each of your names on slips of paper and then randomly chose one. The winner is…David.
Yvette – you mentioned wanting ideas on how to best help those suffering. I’d recommend “Where is God when it hurts” by Phillip Yancey. When he updated this book a few yrs ago, he added a 5 chapter section specifically on how to respond to and help the suffering. I agree (and Yancey too) with your thoughts – trite answers are not helpful!
Thank you! I am pretty excited about reading this book. You can fb me if you need my address. Thank you for sponsoring this. DM
Congrats, David!