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Summary: Where is God when it hurts? a question that we all have had
Review: As I read through this book of pain and suffering of which I have never experienced, I had a radical paradigm shift in way I look at my own pain. When Yancy finds God in imnates that are in prisons so vile that they must defecate in their own food plates, I have to change the way I think. Phillp again paints the word pictures only he can and helps me realize that I am in dire need of the same savior that these hurting people have found.
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Summary: Where is god......nowhere to be found
Review: Christians once again launch into a tirade of rationalizations for the the presence of "god" at ground zero. I'm tired of godists who pretend that the help they recieve from other people is the presence of"god". Zero stars
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Summary: One of the best books I've ever read!
Review: First things first, Phillip Yancy is a modern day C.S.Lewis but much easier to read. This book was absolutely captivating and I had a really hard time putting it down. I don't believe any other author has delved into the problem of pain and how people deal with it like Yancy has. A must read for anyone seeking insight and comfort for physical, as well as emotional and spiritual pain.
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Summary: Possibly Yancey's best
Review: I appreciate that Yancey tackles the tough theological issues with the approach of a journalist. He speaks in plain english, doesn't cut corners and his books have been instrumental in allowing me to keep my faith during difficult times.
In this work Yancey first illustrates why pain is not always bad and the purpose it serves. Then he takes us on journeys that make even the strongest stomach turn. Reading about the horrors of a concentration camp was difficult enough, and Yancey even goes further in describing some of the tragedies that have produced quadripalegics. Some of the book is VERY difficult reading, not from an intellectual stand-point but from a human one. Hearing about the suffering of some of these people I actually had to stop for minutes at a time before I could continue. Yet the book is also inspiring. To hear of faith actually existing at all in these horror stories is unbelievable (and Yancey is quick to point out, Faith doesn't endure through all of these anecdotes) and Yancey provides insight into what Christians can do when they are faced with horrific circumstances and also what we can do when our friends/family are. I have read 6 of Yancey's books and honestly I would give 5 stars to all of them, but this is probably is best. To me what distinguishes Yancey is the fact that while many of the themes in his book overlap, his stories and illustrations rarely do. It's rare a non-fiction writer can produce more than 2 books anymore without basically re-hashing the same content--I have NEVER felt this way with Yancey. I always feel stronger spiritually after reading his books--and this book is certainly no exception.
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Summary: BEST discussion I have EVER heard on pain/suffering
Review: I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book for anyone interested in or struggling with pain of any kind in their lives or in the lives of loved ones! I have been walking with the Lord for over 20 years, and in all that time I have never heard, until I read this book, such a helpful and clear significant presentation of how to cope with this (timely and critical) issue of pain in our lives.
Don't be fooled by the author's starting discussion of the physiology of pain. His exploration of the topic has GREATLY helped me to face some horrendous mental, spiritual, and emotional pains in my own life. Now I am more willing and able to trust God to help me THROUGH the difficulties of life, to help me move on with thanksgiving and praise for each small and large blessing that comes each moment. Thank God that His Holy Spirit has moved Philip Yancey to write this book!
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Summary: With us, proved by the death of Christ, through our deeds
Review: If I were not in one of the two most painful moment of my thirty seven year life, I certainly would have avoided this book though it's written by Philip Yancey, my favorite Christian author. I am still in great pain, but I must say that this book does help. Even God Himself did not explain to Job why Job had suffered, so the author just focused his discussion on the "meaning" or "to what end" of suffering. He had covered many topics, like the clear distinction between pain and suffering, the biological necessity of pain, how well intended consolation or even gift cards of christians can do more harm than good, the importance of hope as a pain killer, the notion of "the wounded healer" first preached by Nouven that God enables christians to help others in future through their suffering, the death of Christ as evidence that God knows our suffering and cares, etc etc. No matter what, as somebody who's suffering and strongly believe that my current experience will endow me with stronger capability to help others in the future, I can tell this is a very good book that helps. If I have only one complaint, it is that most of the examples quoted by the author were about disease and death. It would be better if he could talk more about those who suffer under divorce......... p.s. As in all my recent reviews, below please find some copy and paste from the book for your reference. -- If I spend my life searching for happiness through drugs, comfort and luxury, it will elude me. Happiness recedes from those who pursue her. Happiness will come upon me unexpectedly as a by product, a surprising bonus for something I have invested myself in. And, most likely, that investment will include pain. It is hard to imagine pleasure without it. -- Until you know a little more about running the physical universe, Job, dont tell me how to run the moral universe. -- Guilt is a pain message to the conscience, informing it that something is wrong and should be dealth with. -- Paul had learned the lesson of the Beatitudes: poverty, affliction, sorrow, and weakness can actually be means of grace if we turn to God with a humble, dependent spirit. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Paul concluded. The weaker we feel, the harder we may lean. -- At the instant of pain, it may seem impossible to imagine that good can come from tragedy. (It must have seemed so to Christ at Gethsemane. ) We never know in advance exactly how suffering can be transformed into a cause for celebration. But that is what we are asked to believe. Faith means believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse. -- I have mentioned that no one offers the name of a philosopher when I asked the question, "Who helped you most?" Most often they answer by describing a quiet, unassuming person. Someone who was there whenever needed, who listened more than talked, who didnt keep glancing down at a watch, who hugged and touched, and cried, someone who was available, and came on the sufferer's terms not their own.
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Summary: Life Changing
Review: Philip Yancey offers a very different, yet deeply provocative dimension to the problem of pain. It isn't the kind of book that one would expect give a direct answer to the question the title of the book poses: Where is God when it most hurt? When the world seems to be crashing down? When loneliness creeps in like a sinister fiend?
Yancey doesn't dispute the notion of a good God, but he used painful examples of admirable and make-you-take-your-hats-off real life figures, from Olympic star to Holocaust victim, to dispel the notion that God is absent in times of fear and despondency. It is quite apparent in such times God tends to change and mould a person.
Though many do not like the message of pain, but Yancey has given a very honest, real and undismissive acknowledgement of the sufferings of this world. It is easy to wish away all pain, and look to God for a convenient escape, but pain seems to persist stubbornly. Pain that can change if we allow it, pain that has value and created for the purpose of alarming the body, mind and spirit of danger.
In conclusion, I feel this book has answered the first question in a very oblique and ambiguous manner. Where is God when it hurts? Well, He's in it, but it really matters what you choose to allow Him to do/to do yourself.
(I feel especially touched about examples of thankfulness, of praise, of resolve in times of pain. I thought you might also complement this with C. S. Lewis's A Grief Observed & The Problem of Pain - He debates about God's goodness and God's ability to use pain as an instrument of revelation)
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Summary: This book will change your life
Review: This book is for anyone who has ever wondered what God's plans were when a person they loved was stricken with pain. Yancey's book addresses both the abstract notion of why God allows pain and specific examples. This book is a must for any Christian, and illuminating for non-Christians as well.
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Summary: Paradigm Shift
Review: This book is not only about how God views our suffering, and how much we struggle with God in the midst of our suffering (although it does thoroughly discuss those things). The most interesting aspects of this book, in my opinion, were the stories and comments that Yancey makes on how Christians, though mostly good-intentioned, often respond to other people's pain in very unhelpful ways. There is an example of a woman who was very ill and then examples of a few different people who came to visit her and how their different approaches affected her. It shows you how to best try and comfort someone in great pain (although of course there isn't one universally right way to do it). One of Yancey's most interesting observations in this book is that the only cards made for sick people are "get well" cards--and how that shows what society's view is on sickness and how often times people are only considered valuable if they are well. Otherwise, they are considered invalids (as he points out, that word suggests that the person is considered "not valid"). This book should be read by everyone experiencing chronic pain, anyone who experiences any kind of pain, and anyone who ever expects to know anyone who experiences pain. Therefore, everyone should read this book, because pain continues to be a significant part of life.
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Summary: EXCELLENT!
Review: This is THE most influential book I've ever read dealing with a subject that the religious experts have wrestled with in every age since the dawn of man. How do you deal with pain, suffering, and/or death? Why does God allow it? Why did He invent pain in the first place? These and other related questions are the hardest to answer when our non-christian friends and relatives start asking them, especially when they are suffering a painful devistating illness themselves. I was given this book at 17 years of age by an unknown saint who slipped it into my hospital room when I was going through the difficulties of a kidney transplant. My anger and bitterness toward God would surly have destroyed me had I allowed it to fester by setting this precious book aside. Thank God I didn't. I read it and my faith and love for Christ greatly increased instead of weakening. I have seen too many suffering patients take the angry, bitter road to destruction. Because of my experience with the book, I now give it out to my patients freely when they are faced with devastating pain or life threatening illness(es). I have found this book extremely valuable in opening up a hardened and locked down heart to Christ. The one who suffers can not understand why a loving, merciful creator would allow him or her to go through such suffering, or why He would allow the suffering of a close friend or relative. This book explores the issues head on with an eyes-wide-open approach to why pain exists in the first place and how we should deal with it. It is both scientific and spiritual. In my opinion, no other book short of the Bible has helped my walk with Christ as much!
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