If God Is Good... by Randy Alcorn

If God is Good, is an excellent straightforward book of apologetics told by way of answering the question, if God is good why does evil exist? Written by Randy Alcorn, the book weighs in at a hefty 500+ pages, and yet I never found it dragging. I highly recommend this book to all with a Christian belief or for those who just want to know the answer to that question.

When I was at Idaho State University, I was required to take a Philosophy 101 course that was a survey of all the Philosophers and their philosophies. The course followed a pattern that basically summed up my disdain for philosophy. It would introduce the philosopher. Then it would summarize his or her philosophy. Then it would explain why that philosophy was ultimately discredited. It was basically an eight week course in mental thumb twiddling. “Hey, I know how the world works! Oh, no wait… never mind.” I asked the professor at the end of the course, “If all the philosophers have been proven to be wrong, why do we need to learn their philosophies? I mean, let’s be realistic, in any other area of study when you reach a point where you realize that you have gone down the wrong path, you don’t revel in it and teach it to future generations.” Needless to say, I was not asked back to the Philosophy Department.

I was already starting to realize that if you take a modicum of Christian belief, or even an open mind, you would learn that the Bible answers all philosophical questions about the meaning of life in ways that no other religion or philosophy does. It’s the only major religion where God appears to humanity, claims to be God, and does so in a historical context (not off in some desert, or in a pre-historic era, but at the crossroads of history during the height of the Roman World). There are faith elements involved, to be sure. But Christianity is the only religion that I know of that not only poses the tough questions, but answers them as well in a way that is consistent and irrefutable. It flies in the face of all other religions and philosophies because its not based on wishful thinking or bribery. And because its not based on human intellect, but divine wisdom, it is something easier to FEEL than it is to reason. We know it to be right, even if we don’t understand why.

There have been several books trying to explain why that is. These books of Apologetics have been written by some of the biggest Christian writers and philosophers ever known. St. Augustine, C.S. Lewis, and many others have all tried to write Apologetics to help non-believers come to Christ by explaining to them what the Bible means.

I’ve never liked books of apologetics because I thought they were trying to explain something to me that I knew infinitely better from having read the Bible myself. There was very little new revealed in these books – most books of apologetics are about as welcome to me as a summary clip show on my favorite sit-com. But If God Is Good… tackled apologetics from a different point of view and I felt sucked in to its premise long before I realized that it was still a book of apologetics. After I realized what it was, I kept reading because in answering its thesis question, it turned the Gospel on its head for me and explained Christ’s role as a victim of and a defeater of sin. The best thing you can tell a writer of non-fiction is that it allowed the reader to see things in a new light. It opened my eyes.

One of my favorite images painted by Randy Alcorn is of Christ on the cross absorbing the sins of the world. Sin, as most Christian theologians will tell you, causes the separation of the sinner from God. They can not experience God while they are under the punishment of sin. The theological implications of Christ on the cross then are that the very human Christ, who is also God, was separated from God by absorbing sin. He became apart from Himself so that He could die and thus defeat death. God became Not God in order to satisfy His own requirements for sin – while at the same time never really stopping to be God. Talk about truly mind-boggling. This image is one of many in this book that allowed me to see the Gospel in a whole new light.

Now, I don’t know that Randy Alcorn and I share too many of the same views on Christianity. He seems a little more evangelical than I’m used to. But after reading this book, I’ve begun to question some of my views. We all need books that push us off those pedestals of pre-conceived notions so that we can grow and learn and think. I don’t know that my views will change as a result of reading this book, but my views will definitely be examined a little more thoroughly than before.

Book: If God Is Good
Author: Randy Alcorn
Summary: Every one of us will experience suffering. Many of us are experiencing it now. As we have seen in recent years, evil is real in our world, present and close to each one of us.

In such difficult times, suffering and evil beg questions about God--Why would an all-good and all-powerful God create a world full of evil and suffering? And then, how can there be a God if suffering and evil exist?

These are ancient questions, but also modern ones as well. Atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and even former believers like Bart Ehrman answer the question simply: The existence of suffering and evil proves there is no God.

In this captivating new book, best-selling author Randy Alcorn challenges the logic of disbelief, and brings a fresh, realistic, and thoroughly biblical insight to the issues these important questions raise.

Alcorn offers insights from his conversations with men and women whose lives have been torn apart by suffering, and yet whose faith in God burns brighter than ever. He reveals the big picture of who God is and what God is doing in the world–now and forever. And he equips you to share your faith more clearly and genuinely in this world of pain and fear.

As he did in his best-selling book, Heaven, Randy Alcorn delves deep into a profound subject, and through compelling stories, provocative questions and answers, and keen biblical understanding, he brings assurance and hope to all.

Author Bio:
Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspectives Ministries and a bestselling author. His novels include Deadline, Dominion, Edge of Eternity, Lord Foulgrin’s Letters, The Ishbane Conspiracy, and the Gold Medallion winner, Safely Home. He has written eighteen nonfiction books as well, including Heaven, The Treasure Principle, The Purity Principle, and The Grace and Truth Paradox. Randy and his wife, Nanci, live in Oregon and have two married daughters and four grandsons.