Coming October 31, 2008:
Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson, eds. Suffering and the Goodness of God. Theology in Community 1. Wheaton: Crossway, 2008. (More info to come here.)I read a pre-pub copy last week, and it is outstanding.
Crossway's summary:
Suffering and the Goodness of God presents biblical truths concerning suffering and challenges believers to promote justice and to emulate God’s grace as they minister to others.Ten chapters:
Famine. Sickness. Terrorist Attacks. Natural disasters.
Each day horrific scenes of suffering are streamed before us through television, the Internet, and newspapers. Believers are taught that God is good, and they believe this truth. Yet when they are faced with suffering and hardships, the one question believers 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 concerning God’s sovereignty, human freedom, and the nature of evil.
Suffering and the Goodness of God offers believers biblical truths concerning suffering and then challenges them to promote justice in the harsh, unsure world around them and to emulate God’s grace as they minister to those who are suffering.
- Robert W. Yarbrough: Christ and the Crocodiles: Suffering and the Goodness of God in Contemporary Perspective
- Walter C. Kaiser Jr.: Suffering and the Goodness of God in the Old Testament
- Walter C. Kaiser Jr.: Eight Kinds of Suffering in the Old Testament
- Dan G. McCartney: Suffering and the Goodness of God in the Gospels
- Dan G. McCartney: Suffering in the Teaching of the Apostles
- Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson: Suffering and the Biblical Story
- John M. Frame: The Problem of Evil
- William Edgar: Suffering and Oppression
- David B. Calhoun: Poems in the Park: My Cancer and God’s Grace
- John S. Feinberg: A Journey in Suffering: Personal Reflections on the Religious Problem of Evil
- “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, Trusting God Even When Life Hurts - “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, Covenant Seminary - “Those who read this book will thank the gifted team of authors for their careful, biblical, theological, philosophical, and ethical engagement with the problem of suffering and evil. This timely book addresses these crucial and challenging issues with clarity, conviction, and pastoral sensitivity. Readers will be strengthened, edified, and encouraged. I highly recommend this most important book."
—David S. Dockery, President, Union University - "Morgan and Peterson have assembled a fine community of biblical scholars and theologians, all committed to Christ and the church, to address the problem of suffering. There are no easy answers to this problem, but there are plenty of wrong answers, misunderstandings, and confusion. This book—this community—will point you in the right direction."
—Stephen J. Nichols, Research Professor of Christianity and Culture, Lancaster Bible College - “This volume should be warmly embraced by readers anxious to receive realistic good news from the Bible on this perennially-important subject. The writers are biblical, pastoral, reflective, and honest. I am grateful for their helpful and theologically-rich analysis."
—Paul R. House, Associate Dean and Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School - “Chapter by chapter, the authors root and ground their reflections in Scripture, modeling how to move from biblical exposition to a biblical theology. The reflections are not only theoretical and necessary but also practically engaging. There is much wisdom in this work, and it is my prayer that it will become must-reading for every serious Christian who wants to learn afresh how to handle God’s Word rightly for today’s church and to proclaim the gospel powerfully to today’s world."
—Stephen J. Wellum, Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
