The Church is blessed with a brand-new resource on the problem of evil. This subject has been heavily debated for two-thousand years. It is a subject that many evangelists fear. A seeming lack of an answer is often used as an intellectual argument against the Christian faith. History has seen attempts to answer this question. However, Christensen has produced a fresh work for our generation in our modern-day. In his work What About Evil, Scott Christensen seeks to answer the vital question: what about evil?
This book has been nothing less than a success. Christensen answers the question in not only a satisfying manner but in a biblical and thorough investigation. Having written his book, Christensen has set the tone for this discussion for the next century.
The problem of evil has a way of showing up wherever we go. Readers will feel satisfaction as they read this book. Benefits can be found for all kinds of people, evangelists, teachers, or even biblical counselors. The problem of evil is a significant and serious matter. So, the Church is blessed to have an up-to-date and biblical resource in its treasury.
Overwhelmingly Positive
You have surely realized that I am very optimistic about this book. We have a modern and fresh response to an ancient topic that is comprehensive and easy to understand. Not only that, but Christensen does more than merely answer the question. Doxology flows from his pen as he writes about the magnificent glory of God in Theodicy, showing how this all centers around Jesus Christ. His writing is Theocentric, Christocentric, applied, and doxological. No theology book should be any less. Christensen has produced an excellently relevant work for such a technical discussion as Theodicy
I do not want to ruin any of this book for you before you have the opportunity to read it. If you still need a little push to read, maybe one quote will whet your appetite. In this quote, Christensen shows how the glory of God is at the center of all His actions. He shows how God uses evil for His glory without diminishing Himself as the author of sin. He writes: “To take refuge in him precisely when evil has appeared to overtake us is the place where hope is most amplified.”[1] God uses evil for His glory, but God also uses evil to draw us closer to Himself.
Here, you can get a real taste for Christensen’s ability to communicate practical and technical truth in the best possible way. Not only does this prove to be something of great theological value, but it is something that has immense practical value as well. Such statements are throughout Christensen’s book and each drip with the delicious dew of godly truth.
May we all be further directed to the Lord’s throne in both worship and comfort by reading this book. Hopefully, this book will have the same effect on you as it did for me and that is that it manifests both worship and comfort in your soul as you better understand God’s sovereign plan for evil in this world.
[1] Christensen. S. What About Evil? A Defense of God’s Sovereign Glory. Presbyterian & Reformed. Philipsburg: NJ. (2020). 127.
Robert D. Norman is a missionary serving in Iasi, Romania, where he works in evangelism, teaching, and discipleship. Robert has written several books, including Green Leaves: Deeply Rooted in Psalm 1 and Joseph: God Meant it for Good.
