This is a book that is intended to give an answer, not only to skeptics, but to those who are of various persuasions, as to why suffering is not inconsistent with the reality of a living, and loving God. It also dispels the notion that if a loving, beneficent God genuinely cares for humanity, thereby- since suffering is so obvious and universal- it must therefore follow that he is not an omnipotent God.
Zacharias lives up to his reputation as a Christian apologist with heart, acknowledging that people under extreme circumstances are often not comforted even with the very best of reasons, while the suffering runs its course. At the time of greatest need, they don’t need the cold comfort of logical argument. The inadequacy may only be met by being hugged, or having someone of understanding quietly standing at their side, they need friends and family beside them, and most essentially, “the balm of Gilead”. Vitale also, adds a personal story illustrating the same thing as he relates to an Aunt who gracefully reminds him that a mother watching the suffering of her child doesn’t ask for, or need a justification for suffering, they simply want their child to be delivered from it.
Nevertheless, as these authors go on to show, the need for answers to this perennial “trilemma” is ongoing and vital. They point out that the question of suffering is really an illegitimate question for the naturalist. Not only is it a problem for the naturalist, but from the perspective of Buddhism, and Islam and other persuasions, there are inherent contradictions the authors do a solid job of exposing. They not only cover old ground, but bring new perspectives into the discussion. Among which is the question: Would you actually have come into existence as you now find yourself, if the world was not as it is, full of suffering and anguish? The old adage “be careful what you wish for” applies here. They bring a philosophical rigour to the questions that will satisfy any but closed minds.
Between the two authors, Ravi Zacharias and Vince Vitale, they bring a wealth of knowledge, apologetic argument, and personal anecdotes into the whole arena of suffering. Only someone in the midst of anguish and personal loss can adequately answer the question: Is this book what they need? Well, the book does answer that question, not by being the answer- but in all humility, by pointing to the person of Christ, who in his own suffering reveals a God who is there, a God who enters our world to suffer as a human, and alongside a suffering humanity in a broken world.
As an apologetic resource, this is a must read for all Christians who wish to honour God, and meet head on with those who oppose themselves and arm themselves with the argument from suffering. As such it also shows why defending the faith is so necessary in today’s skeptical world.
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