Does God Always Get What God Wants?

Tim's wife, Anne, died of breast cancer at the age of forty-nine, having battled against the disease for more than six years. Her suffering had a profound influence on their lives and that of their church, and raised challenging questions: – If ""God is in control,"" does that mean God is to blame for suffering? – Why did God not heal Anne? – Is Anne's death what God wanted to happen? – Does prayer make any difference? – What is God doing about evil? People's experience of suffering causes them to examine the kind of God they believe in, the nature of the universe God made, and God's activity in the world. This book explores all three aspects and responds constructively to the complex issues that the above questions pose–and provides powerful reasons for confidence in the firm Christian hope. ""Tim Reddish, trained both in physics and theology, has a nimble mind, and this probing of the relationship between human suffering and God is deft and profound. But mainly this is a deeply personal book, one in which Reddish's own experience with loss and grief sends him farther along the path of faith. His journey takes him not to neatly crafted answers but instead to the cross of Jesus Christ. Readers of this book will learn much, and they will also be powerfully moved."" –Thomas G. Long, Author of What Shall We Say? Evil, Suffering, and the Crisis of Faith ""Drawing from scripture, tradition, science, and his own very personal experience with tragedy, Tim Reddish offers readers a clear, comprehensive, and compelling response to the problem of evil–one that doesn't require us to accept that the horrendous suffering people often endure is part of God's grand plan but that nevertheless offers people great hope and comfort. Whether or not readers end up agreeing with every aspect of Reddish's proposal–I do not–they will find a wealth of helpful insights in this powerful book."" –Gregory A. Boyd, Author of Is God to Blame? and Satan and the Problem of Evil Lucid, thought-provoking, insightful, and deeply personal. Reddish shows how the path of suffering can be transformative, even enabling intimacy with our Trinitarian God, who participates in our suffering and with that of all creation. The Trinity's journey of suffering love to the cross can become more profoundly real through our own experiences of pain and brokenness. –Richard Rohr, author of The Divine Dance and Job and the Mystery of Suffering ""Made real and deeply moving by his own experience of life's limits, Tim Reddish has written a thoughtful account of the problem of human suffering and the Christian response to it. This book is well-informed by some of the best treatments of the subject in contemporary literature. It is written in a clear and readable manner, and should serve Christian and non-Christian discussion groups admirably."" –Douglas John Hall, Author of God and Human Suffering and The Cross in Our Context ""Once we set aside belief in a controlling God, faith in God becomes more interesting not less so. Reddish explores the implications in this readable and provocative book. The results create a new vision of God and a way to make sense of suffering and joy."" –Thomas Jay Oord, author of The Uncontrolling Love of God. ""A wise, illuminating, and moving book in practical theology–a real pleasure to read."" –Keith Ward, author of God and Human Suffering and The Cross in Our Context ""In this little gem of a book, Reddish brings the full weight of his rigorous scientific and theological mind to bear on questions of suffering and God in this world. Grounded in his experience of grief, having suffered the untimely death of his beloved wife, Anne, Reddish examines central doctrines of the faith to consider how they speak into the lives of real people living and dying in the here and now. He examines biblical sources, historical and contemporary theology, and especially the theology of the cross to explore questions of theodicy for Chris