The Goodness of God – a book review

How many times have you heard the question, “if God is a good God, why is there evil and suffering in the world?” I always have had a simple answer for this, and that was “sin.” While sin is part of the reason for evil and suffering, I have learned there is so much more to this answer than just sin. How do we explain goodness? Randy Alcorn states, “The very act of calling evil a problem presupposes a standard of goodness” (p.39). God did not create evil, He allowed it. God created a perfect world, but He knew Adam and Eve would fall. We are born into sin, therefore, evil and suffering will take place in our lives. Along our journey we become more like Christ through our suffering. Alcorn goes as far as to say, “the best answer to the problem of evil is a person—Jesus Christ” (p.48). Jesus suffered the most humiliating death and took on Himself ALL the sins of the world, not just some, but all. He can empathize for anything we have or are going through. Because of Jesus, our suffering can one day end. We can live with Him forever, pain free. He will establish His kingdom again on the new Earth, where there will be no more suffering or evil. What a great end to the story! God is put in His rightful place in this book, as well as Satan and humans. God reigns over all and is in control.

The Goodness of God is a great book for understanding more about the problem of evil. Alcorn attempts to explain the problem from current worldviews, such as open theism, or atheism. He explains that these other views do not really have an answer but rather question the characteristics of who God is. This problem cannot have an answer without a Christian biblical worldview. I appreciate the interaction with some of the current theologies in today's world.

Having had some seminary training, I was a little concerned before reading the book as to how Alcorn would use Scripture throughout this book. However, I think his use of Scripture is dilligent, without proof-texting. Often when we hear a sermon regarding the problem of evil, the text always seems to land somewhere in Job. While the book of Job and his suffering is used in this book, it was not the main focus, which was a nice relief. The redemption of Christ from our suffering was a highlight as well as verses that stated as Christians, we will experience suffering in our lives. It's inevitable.

This book is a great read for understanding more about why there is evil and suffering in the world. It is simple, yet profound. I cannot even begin to summarize it as well as Alcorn. I highly recommend this book as there is most likely something new anyone can pull from it. For example, one of the comments that struck me most in the book is this: “Might God be limiting sin all around us all the time? If God permitted people to follow their every evil inclination all the time, life on this planet would screech to a halt...I believe God is in fact restraining a great deal of evil in this world, and for this we should thank Him daily” (p.59). This is one of those topics I hadn't though about before. Do we realize how much evil there could be? God is sovereign over all and is in control of this world.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.