The Message of Evil and Suffering

Evil and suffering have always been part of human experience - and they present a significant challenge to Christian belief in a good and all-powerful God. Evil and suffering may be a mystery to us, but they are not a mystery to God. The Bible writers have no time for an unreal idealism, in which the life of faith is free from anguish, pain and perplexity. They are confident that God's power and wisdom are great enough not just to cope with the realities of suffering and evil, but to overcome and transform them, and to enable us to be 'more than conquerors' in a broken and hurting world. With warmth and clarity, Peter Hicks expounds a range of relevant biblical texts that enable us to set the issue of evil and suffering firmly in the context of the nature and purposes of God. Central to his approach is the conviction that the key lies in the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the suffering and triumph of God himself. In valuable practical sections he explores the Bible's teaching on how we are to live in a world of evil and suffering.