God's Problem
About this book
In times of questioning and despair, people often quote the Bible to provide answers. Surprisingly, though, the Bible does not have one answer but many "answers" that often contradict one another. Consider these competing explanations for suffering put forth by various biblical writers: The prophets: suffering is a punishment for sinThe book of Job, which offers two different answers: suffering is a test, and you will be rewarded later for passing it; and suffering is beyond comprehension, since we are just human beings and God, after all, is GodEcclesiastes: suffering is the nature of things, so just accept itAll apocalyptic texts in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament: God will eventually make right all that is wrong with the worldFor renowned Bible scholar Bart Ehrman, the question of why there is so much suffering in the world is more than a haunting thought. Ehrman's inability to reconcile the claims of faith with the facts of real life led the former pastor of the Princeton Baptist Church to reject Christianity.In God's Problem, Ehrman discusses his personal anguish upon discovering the Bible's contradictory explanations for suffering and invites all people of faith—or no faith—to confront their deepest questions about how God engages the world and each of us.
Reader Profile
4.1/5 · 38 readers · 441 pages · ≈ 8 h 10 m · Moderate
How long does it take to read God's Problem?
About ≈ 8 h 10 m — 441 pages, assuming roughly 250 words per page at 225 words per minute.
How many pages is God's Problem?
441 pages in its most-read edition.
What genre is God's Problem?
It sits on the History shelves.
Is God's Problem in the public domain?
No — it is still under copyright.
Who wrote God's Problem?
Bart D. Ehrman.