Review - Why? Making Sense of God's Will

In my last review of an Adam Hamilton book (When Christians Get it Wrong) I wrote,

I really like Adam Hamilton’s books for one main reason: while Hamilton is not one to break much new ground, he has the gift of writing with exceptional clarity. I rarely read his work and think “I had never thought of that.” Instead, I read it and think, “I never thought to put it like that.” I have to think that this is what has made him such a successful pastor; he has the ability to take complex and controversial ideas and clearly and lovingly explain them.

I share that again here because Adam Hamilton's latest, Why? Making Sense of God's Will, has hit that mark again. In Why? Hamilton takes on one of the toughest issues of our faith, something we call theodicy, our attempt to reconcile our belief in all-loving and all-powerful God with the fact that there is still evil and suffering in the world.

This issue of theodicy is complex. Hamilton has found a way to frame the issue and open the discussion in a way that is understandable but not simplistic. He runs through four main topics in four chapters (it is a short book): Why Do the Innocent Suffer? Why Do My Prayers Go Unanswered? Why Can't I See God's Will for My Life? and why God's Love Prevails.

Here are two reasons you might want to read this book: One, you are struggling with these topics in your own life. Perhaps you are struggling with things and wondering where God is in the midst of your suffering. Maybe you want to see God as loving but can't see his hand in your life right now. This book might give you some hope and direction. Two, you might not be in a place like that right now, but you do encounter people who face questions like this. This is most of us. This is why most of us should read this book: too often, when we encounter people who are facing suffering, loss and other things that make them struggle with the role of God in their lives and world, we are tempted to offer shallow, unhelpful answers. In my journey as a Christian, in the midst of loss, I have heard some of the worst, unhelpful, unbiblical, theologically tenuous words of "comfort" come from the mouths of Christians. Why? can give us some better vocabulary, or better yet, the ability to say, "I don't know."

I am sure someone will try to poke some holes in Hamilton's theology of suffering. When they do, I will try to remind them that this is not a systematic theology book. It is an attempt to take a complex topic and put it in the hands of the people who most need it. In that attempt, I believe it is a success. I am told that some group study materials to go along with the book are forthcoming. It would make a great topic for discussion in small groups and Sunday schools.

If you are around our main University campus, we have copies of Why? in The Word Store.

peace,

will

What I have been reading

I read quite a bit. I read as a spiritual discipline. I read for fun. I read to stay current on what is going on in the world and I read to stay focused and fresh in my vocational ministry. I tend to read a little faster than I blog so not everything I read ends up on the weblog. So, occasionally, I put a bunch of really short thoughts on what I have been reading in one post. This is one of those posts.

Sam Kean, The Disappearing Spoon and Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements

It has been a tradition for me to read way outside my field during vacation. This is the first one I tackled during my time away in October. Author Mark Kurlanksky is quoted on the dust jacket, "If only I had read it before taking chemistry." Amen to that. Science has never been my love. I limped through chemistry in high school and college. Kean makes it fascinating. I think I originally bought the book because I just had to see for myself if the author could make something as seemingly dry as the periodic table compelling. He did. For my non-science brain, I struggled a little bit trying to again understand what all those protons and neutrons are doing. I was rewarded by some absolutely wonderful stories of the personal drama behind some of the breakthroughs in chemistry that have led to our current understandings and a lot of the neat stuff we take for granted.

Before I move on to the next book, a word about why I have the tradition of reading way outside my field. I believe that it makes me a better theologian and pastor. I believe that God created us to be curious and creative. I think humans were uniquely created by God in a way that makes us want to try and understand our world. Our Wesleyan understanding of our approach to scripture even invites us to bring our curiosity, intellect and reason to our study of God's word. As a person who spends most of my days learning, studying and teaching God's word, I want to also always be expanding my ability to understand. I want to always be using my God given curiosity in exploring the creation. I am thankful to authors like Sam Kean and Stephen Hawking (who I will discuss in a moment.) They are much more gifted in other areas of curiosity and exploration and they take the time to write things that allow people like me to peek into parts of the world that I might not otherwise get to see.

Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow, The Grand Design

In Stephen Hawking's bio on the dust jacket, there is a list of his books for the "general reader." That is a nice way of saying that I wouldn't really be able to read most of the stuff he writes. I am glad that he has taken the time to write some things that ordinary people with ordinary IQs can read. Hawking gets some help on this one from physicist and author of The Drunkard's Walk, Leonard Mlodinow. This book came on my radar because it caused some stir amongst Christians claiming that in it, Hawking denies the existence of God. The reason Christians claimed that is that, well, Hawking and Mlodinow pretty much do that. Right off the bat, on page 8 they write about M-theory, a sort of ultimate theory of everything. There they write, "M-theory predicts that a great many Universes were created out of nothing. Their creation does not require the intervention of some supernatural being or god. Rather, these multiple universes arise naturally from physical law." This is not the only jab that Hawking and Mlodinow take at religion. Religion has made some pretty decent scientific gaffs over time (although, so has science) and they like to remind us of that. I don't really have the energy nor the intellect to debate Hawking and Mlodinow and I don't really see a need to. Although they appear to dabble in theology here, they are not theologians. And their words by no means upset me. They are sharing what they believe and there is nothing wrong with that. I would say from a theological standpoint that they continue to talk about "how?" questions. I believe theology to be about the "why?" questions. They don't touch those. I loved the book. I learned a lot about how the universe God gave us works and came to be and that makes me more grateful for it.

Nicholas A. Christakis and James H. Fowler, Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives

When we think "social networks" lately we think about Facebook and Twitter. But these new technologies are really just electronic representations of the natural reality that has been going on as long as there were enough humans to gather into groups. Christakis and Fowler look to some pretty extensive and astounding research to show how predictable and influential our human social networks are. We all know that we affect our friends and our friends affect us. But most of us don't think about how much our friend's friend's friends affect our decision making and even happiness. Delving into research on disease, voting habits, dating and marriage, and even networked video games, the authors lay out an understanding of social network dynamics that made my brain hurt.

I read this book as another attempt to read out of my field. While this is clearly out of my field, I think this should probably be required reading for pastors of large and mega-churches. The authors do speak specifically about religion but that is not the most important part for pastors. Pastors of large and mega churches might be well informed to understand the dynamics in play in the spread of influence, opinion, ideas and even anxiety. This book is worthy of its own post and, if I find the time, I will get back to it.

I had planned on covering my whole stack of recent reads but this post is long enough for now. More soon.

peace,

will

The review will have to wait

I just finished Adam Hamilton's Enough: Discovering Joy through Simplicity and Generosity
but we will have to wait on the review.  It was good I had to hand it right over to my wife to read.  I will post a review when she is done.  An amazing little book and especially relevant for this uncertain time.

peace,

will

Quitting Church

I have been sitting on Julia Duin’s Quitting Church, Why the Faithful Are Fleeing and What to Do About It for a couple of weeks now. I finished it, but it took me a while to think about what to write about it. Julia Duin is the religion editor for the Washington Times. I read the book through the lens of this being a journalist’s investigative piece. But I realized, after it sunk in, that this is a narrative written by someone who feels hurt, or at least let down by the church. That makes the book just as useful, but also different. Duin shares, through interview and her own experience, a picture of the mass exodus from our mainline churches. For our people at University UMC, it is hard to grasp this with our amount of growth, but most mainline churches are in serious decline. The book gives a ton of great insight into the problem though none of it is especially new. But it does it in an almost prescriptive way, a way that is a little mind boggling. If pastors could just be dynamic, spirit-led biblical scholars who could provide programming that taught the depths of theological understanding while giving singles a place to meet their future spouses and providing for the needs of all while establishing a true sense of community and if those same pastors could be sure to pray for and visit and attend to the spiritual needs of all in their flock, and if possible be good friends with everyone, our churches would be fine. If it sounds like I am poking at the author, I am not really; I am poking at the problem. When you combine the true needs of God’s people, with the true lack of vision and leadership in our churches, with the new consumerist mind set that says, “I will shop around ‘til I find what I need” the problem seems impossible. It seems that many of our churches have either given up, or tried to address every problem at once and ended up with nothing.

If you care about the future of our churches, you should probably read this book. Be prepared to be convicted, flustered and occasionally annoyed. Consider it a good thing.

peace,

Will