What Shall We Say?
Evil, Suffering, and the Crisis of Faith
- Theology
- Preaching & Worship
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Published: 2014
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Publisher's Description
Tsunamis, earthquakes, famines, diseases, wars &mdash these and other devastating forces lead Christians to ask painful questions. Is God all-powerful? Is God good? How can God allow so much innocent human suffering? These questions, taken together, have been called the "theodicy problem," and in this book Thomas Long explores what preachers can and should say in response. Long reviews the origins and history of the theodicy problem and engages the work of major thinkers who have posed solutions to it. Cautioning pastors not to ignore urgent theodicy-related questions arising from their parishioners, he offers biblically based approaches to preaching on theodicy, guided by Jesus' parable of the wheat and the tares and the "greatest theodicy text in Scripture" -- the book of Job.
Endorsements (3)
“Among preachers, Tom Long is perhaps the most broadly read and deeply incisive of them all. . . . Long doesn’t offer easy answers, but he does open a wonderful conversation.”
“Tom Long has done it again, tackling a tough subject with wit, intelligence, and integrity. Moving beyond the ministry of presence, Long challenges clergy to stop dodging the bullet and to answer the hard questions laypeople ask. More importantly, he also gives us the tools to do it well.”
“Long has written a book that deserves attention. He draws preachers to proclaim the power of God made known in Christ, crucified and risen. . . . Long is a craftsman with his prose, and in general his theological reflections are carefully thought and yield sound applications for preaching. I certainly intend to use this as a text in my course on 'Pastoral Theology and Suffering.'”
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