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God's Problem
How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question--Why We Suffer
First published 2008 · 448 pages
A deeply personal and intellectually rigorous exploration of the ultimate theological stumbling block: why we suffer.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like sitting down with a deeply empathetic, incredibly knowledgeable professor who is unafraid to dismantle his own life's work in the pursuit of truth. The pace is steady and deliberate, guiding the reader through complex biblical texts with a conversational clarity that never feels bogged down by academic jargon. The mood is undeniably heavy, steeped in the profound grief of human suffering and the melancholic ache of losing one's faith, yet it remains intellectually invigorating throughout. It is a contemplative, searching experience that balances scholarly rigor with raw personal vulnerability. This is a book for seekers, doubters, and anyone who has ever felt the crushing weight of theodicy, offering not easy answers, but the quiet comfort of shared questioning and a compassionate embrace of our shared humanity.
- Mood
- contemplative
- heavy
- searching
- sober
- Tone
- earnest
- scholarly
- empathetic
- questioning
- candid
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- the problem of evil · religious deconstruction · loss of faith · biblical contradictions · human suffering
- The writing
- Clear, accessible, and conversational, translating complex theological and historical concepts into deeply personal reflections.
- The arc
- Begins with the profound anguish of unanswerable questions and moves toward a sober, compassionate acceptance of human limitation and secular morality.
- Who it's for
- Intellectually curious readers, former believers, and anyone grappling with the tension between religious doctrine and the reality of human suffering.
Content notes
- religious deconstruction
- loss of faith
- discussions of intense human suffering
- grief
About the 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.
Description from Open Library.
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