Evil, Suffering, and God

“Owen Cummings is a model ecclesial theologian, and this book is superb. It is real theology: personal, ecclesial, earthed, human, deeply spiritual, and deeply reflected; a work of immense maturity, wisdom, ease, and helpfulness. It was moving, stimulating, expanding, and very heartening to read.”

Paul D. Murray

“This little book is not a systematic treatise on evil, suffering, and God. What it hopes to achieve is to offer Christians today an approach that really helps, that helps us all to remain—even in great difficulties and circumstances—beacons of hope and sacraments of love. What is more urgently needed today in our faith communities is to, in Deacon Cummings’s words, cultivate a hopeful and trusting spirituality through careful thinking and praying, using the many rich traditions that have come down to us. This book brought me a deep sense of gratitude. Through his many decades as a teacher of theology and pastoral minister, the author offers us a theological approach that really helps!”

Peter McCarthy

“Deacon Owen Cummings is a very wise man who has once again written a very accessible and insightful book to add to his marvelous corpus of theological, liturgical, spiritual, and philosophical works. Cummings masterfully challenges us to acknowledge the realities of evil and suffering in our world, seeing in them moments of grace, moments of encounter with a God who never abandons us. I hope the reader of this gem of a book will hear anew Christ’s invitation to spend time in prayer with him, and in so doing, being reminded that Good Friday always gives way to Easter Sunday.”

John C. Wester