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4.55 AVERAGE
4.55 AVERAGE
This is a great book. I listened to the audiobook, bought a hard copy and read that twice. If you are struggling with these kinds of questions, especially if you are having a hard time in your own life, this book gives you a lot to think about. One of the best books out there on this topic and Timothy Keller is willing to directly ask the questions that those that suffer want to ask. The questions that make other people, including most priests and ministers a bit uncomfortable to talk about. And there is no one simple answer to all of these questions. He looks at it from all points of view, so it is not easy to blow through the simple explanation later on when you think about it further. The Western and Christian perspective is made whole.
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
At the start of the pandemic, I was walking through a painful experience. As shops, libraries, and churches were closing, I was left trying to process my personal pain in the midst of national suffering and confusion.
I decided to read Tim Keller’s WALKING WITH GOD THROUGH PAIN AND SUFFERING because why not dig deep into something I couldn’t ignore. I’m not usually one who seeks distraction, and I am grateful I didn’t try it now.
Keller starts the book by explaining how different worldviews see pain and why our modern take on suffering may be the most painful one. He then gives a framework that explains four different types of pain and how God uses these experiences to draw us to Him. Our suffering is never to punish us; it is only ever for His glory and our good. And... AND... we are not alone in our suffering. Jesus endured the worst pain FOR US, so that He can be WITH US in our pain.
WALKING WITH GOD is one of the best theology books I’ve ever read. And it contains lots of practical ideas for how to walk through hard times with God. It is well researched, Gospel-centered, and brimming with hope. I walked away from this book with a new perspective on my whole life and can see themes that run through the Bible more clearly, as nearly every story from the Word has some form of pain or suffering.
And the assurance we have in the midst of pain? This faith we have "has set us free from optimism and taught us hope instead." We don't wish for the good to come; we have a deep-seeded knowledge of it.
"While other worldviews lead us to sit in the midst of life's joys, foreseeing the coming sorrows, Christianity empowers its people to sit in the midst of the world's sorrows, tasting the coming joy."
I highly, highly recommend this book.
I decided to read Tim Keller’s WALKING WITH GOD THROUGH PAIN AND SUFFERING because why not dig deep into something I couldn’t ignore. I’m not usually one who seeks distraction, and I am grateful I didn’t try it now.
Keller starts the book by explaining how different worldviews see pain and why our modern take on suffering may be the most painful one. He then gives a framework that explains four different types of pain and how God uses these experiences to draw us to Him. Our suffering is never to punish us; it is only ever for His glory and our good. And... AND... we are not alone in our suffering. Jesus endured the worst pain FOR US, so that He can be WITH US in our pain.
WALKING WITH GOD is one of the best theology books I’ve ever read. And it contains lots of practical ideas for how to walk through hard times with God. It is well researched, Gospel-centered, and brimming with hope. I walked away from this book with a new perspective on my whole life and can see themes that run through the Bible more clearly, as nearly every story from the Word has some form of pain or suffering.
And the assurance we have in the midst of pain? This faith we have "has set us free from optimism and taught us hope instead." We don't wish for the good to come; we have a deep-seeded knowledge of it.
"While other worldviews lead us to sit in the midst of life's joys, foreseeing the coming sorrows, Christianity empowers its people to sit in the midst of the world's sorrows, tasting the coming joy."
I highly, highly recommend this book.
Timothy Keller has quickly become my favorite writer on the Christian faith. This book came to me when I needed it most, and I feel like I’ve grown closer to God through the reading of this book. I can’t recommend this book enough if you are a believer going through a time of suffering.
A pretty comprehensive treatment on pain and suffering.
I thought this was going to be an expansion on Keller's treatment of the subject in The Reason For God and while there was a decent unpacking of 'the problem of pain' from an apologetics angle, this book is more pastoral in nature.
Tim Keller clearly writes from years of personal experience as well as likely countless instances of walking with congregants through deep personal pain. This definitely enriches the writing and moves his prescriptions from the realm of the abstract to the practical. At the same time, it is deeply theological and rooted in a reverent treatment of Scripture as well as a nuanced understanding of culture.
This is quite simply vintage Keller. Excellent read.
I thought this was going to be an expansion on Keller's treatment of the subject in The Reason For God and while there was a decent unpacking of 'the problem of pain' from an apologetics angle, this book is more pastoral in nature.
Tim Keller clearly writes from years of personal experience as well as likely countless instances of walking with congregants through deep personal pain. This definitely enriches the writing and moves his prescriptions from the realm of the abstract to the practical. At the same time, it is deeply theological and rooted in a reverent treatment of Scripture as well as a nuanced understanding of culture.
This is quite simply vintage Keller. Excellent read.
Putting this in DNF for now because I haven’t picked it up since June. It’s not bad, and I like Keller a lot, I just haven’t been interested.
Some may say: "we may be stuck here here living for seventy or eighty years until we perish, and the only happiness we will ever know is in this life. And if some trouble or suffering takes that happiness away, you have lost it forever. Either Jesus is on the throne ruling all things for you or this is as good as it gets" (299).
I'm reminded of Tolkien's "joy beyond the walls of the world" and Lewis's "death itself would work backward"--fiction yet strangely fact, I believe, even as we walk through the valley of a senseless and seemingly cruel miscarriage with siren sentinels of numbness, anger, and confusion--weeping profusely, somehow trusting, praying brokenly, thinking, self-examining, reordering our loves, striving toward community and seeking reconciliation. It hurts, God.
I'm reminded of Tolkien's "joy beyond the walls of the world" and Lewis's "death itself would work backward"--fiction yet strangely fact, I believe, even as we walk through the valley of a senseless and seemingly cruel miscarriage with siren sentinels of numbness, anger, and confusion--weeping profusely, somehow trusting, praying brokenly, thinking, self-examining, reordering our loves, striving toward community and seeking reconciliation. It hurts, God.
This book could not have come at a better time for me. After the hardest season I’ve ever experienced, and through a period of still-unanswered prayer... God is still good.
challenging
hopeful
reflective
Read through as a group study, very helpful and pertinent. The first third was a bit too high level for us but overall it was very helpful and got more practical going through, so worth persevering!
I highly recommend this book. It took me quite a while to get through it (partly because I was writing down so many notes and quotes from it), especially the first part where Keller writes about how various cultures and religions have viewed and dealt with suffering both historically and in the modern day. It was well worth the time and effort as it helped me to process some things I was struggling with after surviving a very deadly and destructive wildfire.