When There Are No Easy Answers

About The Book:  How can a God of love allow terrible things to happen in our lives?
Christians often assume they're equipped to deal with tragedy if it enters their lives, but like most people, think it never really will. What happens, then, when we follow God's will to the best of our abilities and heartbreak strikes? Do we mean it when we implore "Have Thine own way, Lord" or does that only apply in times of blessings or small, manageable hurts?

John Feinberg knows that conundrum intimately. In 1987 his beloved wife was diagnosed with an incurable, genetically transmitted disease. They were immediately challenged in their faith and their approach to God's goodness in the face of the evil of suffering. More, they discovered just how little their Christian community understood about how to support people in crisis.

When There Are No Easy Answers considers the problem of grief from every angle, just as the Feinbergs walked through it in their journey. It confronts the question of justice, examines the nature of God, and argues for the reality of grace. Feinberg explores the biblical reasons against the use of traditional clichés and platitudes, especially by those in ministry, and lays out alternatives that can actually comfort and encourage the person who is struggling or grieving.

About The Author:  John S. Feinberg is professor of biblical and systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He has also pastored churches and taught at Western Baptist Seminary and Liberty University. Feinberg’s previous works include Continuity and Discontinuity, Ethics for a Brave New World, and The Many Faces of Evil.


My Thoughts On The Book:
Grief is tough to go through and reading about it brings back a lot of  hard to deal with feelings.  Having had a massive period of grief in my life I was given several books on dealing with grief to read.  I wish I had been given this one.  It was perfect for someone experiencing grief.   When someone dies that we love the hardest thing is not knowing what to say, and when something is said it is not helpful at all.  As a pastor I deal with people grieving on a regular basis and it is tough to help someone....especially if you are not doing a great job of it yourself.  I love the fact that Feinberg covers the usual things people say.....that are not helpful, and why they are not helpful. So many times people quote scripture, but it is not used as it should be. Feinberg then moves on to tell the reader how to deal with grief.  It is a personal book(Feinberg talks about dealing with his wife's diagnosis), not an easy read at all, and gives a lot of ways to deal with such a deep subject.  The book is full of compassion and I truly believe that anyone dealing with grief and tragedy must read this.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Kregel Publications as part of their Blogging Review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!