Why Do I Personally Experience Evil and Suffering?

This a helpful book with an awkwardly framed title. The author is tackling the painful question: why do I go through times of spiritual, physical and psychological pain?

He begins with the challenge to find some answer to the question. He lays out what he calls the bedrock biblical truths to set his course. In reviewing answers that the world’s major religious traditions make to the question, he includes an answer from an ‘open theist’ point of view. His treatment of each position is fair and even-handed. Fluhrer’s response to the question is clear, makes sense, and encapsulates the reality of divine sovereignty and human freedom.

Having laid a good foundation for a biblical approach, he considers depression, anxiety, and abuse. He deals with each under separate headings. Fluhrer does not play down pain, skate over difficulties, or ignore the sovereignty of God in his treatment of each subject. He occasionally uses stories to make his point. The illustrations do not diminish the issue he is explaining. It is also clear that he has read widely and considered well.

Fluhrer ends the book with a helpful chapter answering questions people have raised with him about personal suffering.

I think he answers the question he posed helpfully and that his treatment is accessible to anyone. It’s a useful addition to any church or personal library.

Patrick Buckley

Truro