How Long, O Lord?: Reflections on Suffering and Evil

I have read other very instructive D.A. Carson books such as Cross & Christian Ministry and A Call to Spiritual Reformation (Two highly recommended works). This book did not leave me disappointed. Carson's purpose for the book is explicitly stated from the get-go - this is a book of "preventative medicine" so Christians "will think deeply on the subject of suffering and evil." I think that this is wise counsel. We should think about suffering BEFORE it happens. Make no mistake, however, in thinking one can completely prepare for the shock of suffering. So Carson describes suffering with a frank and vivid analogy - "It is like jumping into a bitterly cold lake; you can brace yourself for the experience all day, but when you actually jump in, the shock to your system will still snatch your breath away" (pg 141). This book will not "solve" all of the dilemmas of suffering, but it does provide a Biblical framework through which to view them. Carson organizes the book into 3 parts: Part 1 - Thinking about Suffering and Evil Part 2 - Parts of the Puzzle: Biblical Themes for Suffering People Part 3 - Glimpses of the Whole Puzzle: Evil and Suffering in the World of a Good and Sovereign God I have organized my understanding of his insights into the following broad themes: 1.) What a bad theology of suffering believes/does, 2.) What a good theology of suffering believes/does, 3.) a Biblical Analysis of Providence, 4.) the Suffering of Job, and 5.) Viewing one's Suffering in light of the Cross. 1.) A bad theology of suffering... o Is only satisfied in one's own temporal security. "We want security; we want it desperately. But it has very little to do with the security of belonging to God..." (pg 25) o Does not consider that the Bible is full of suffering: Carson says, "We remember the wonderful triumphs of Joseph, Gideon, and David...We are less inclined to think through the sufferings of Jeremiah, the constant ailments of Timothy, the illness of Trophimus, or the thorn in Paul's flesh" (pg 25). o Does not account for mystery. We may have such a well articulated systematic theology, that "we leave precious little scope for mystery, awe, unknowns." (pg 26) o Views that God "is limited and [only] involved with human beings in the grand enterprise of trying to relieve evil and suffering" (pg 29) instead of seeing him as sovereign over it. o Spends all time and energy wondering how to exonerate God of suffering and misses the obvious - that we should be considering how we ought to be responding to the suffering by calling upon the Lord for help. (pg 59) o Fails to see the many examples of suffering that are without a specific sin that caused it and without any associated miraculous healing: Paul's illness that directed him in the first instance to Galatia (Gal 4:13), Timothy's frequent illness (1 Tim 5:23), Trophimus being left behind due to illness (1 Tim 4:20) (pg 101). o Does not have a large enough framework: Instead, health and

As other reviewers have noted this book is aimed at Christians and not for those looking for immediate relief from some trial in their lives. However, there is very much to commend Carson's work for those beginning to explore suffering, free will, and God's sovereignty and their many links to Christian doctrine and experience. While Carson says at one point that we may wish to skip Chapter 11 on the Mystery of Providence, I think it is worth the price alone. There were 3 or 4 places in the book where he ended a section with a statement that I thought needed another line or two of explanation, but these are minor issues of style correctable for me by rereading a paragraph. Carson references Basinger & Basinger's Predestination & Free Will and Carson's comments provide a useful supplement and corrective for some of the views in Basinger. For those who quickly run to some sort of theodicy, Carson makes us pause and consider how great a God we do have. Before jumping on the process or open theological train, please read this. Overall this is a very readable yet challenging coverage of the subject.

D.A. Carson is one of the more respected theologians of our day. He is one of the few evangelical scholars who has written extensively both on Biblical exegetical and interpretational matters, and on matters of contemporary worldviews and issues. Many evangelical scholars tend to focus on one or the other, but Carson is highly respected in both areas. This work deals with perhaps the most vexing question that has ever faced the human race, the question of suffering. For what Carson is trying to accomplish here, I think he does an exquisite job.As Carson indicates at the start of this book, the book is not an attempt to provide a full orbed theodicy that will cover all aspects of suffering or the problem of evil. This is not a book that is devoted to exploring the philosophical origins of evil and how such origins reflect on the existence or nature of God. Carson does devote about two chapters to this, but it is not the thrust of the book, as Carson properly points out at the start. This is a book written to Christians mainly as 'preventive medicine' as Carson describes it.It appears that what Carson is trying to achieve here is to provide the reader with a rather comprehensive analysis of what Scripture says about suffering, and equally important, what Scripture does not say. I thought that a big strength of the book was Carson's insistence on not going beyond the Biblical text to find more palatable or easy answers to such vexing questions that might make people feel better, but are not especially faithful to Scripture. Carson's mission appears to be to lay out for the reader what the Bible says and acknowledging the tensions that the Bible gives us on many aspects of the issue of suffering without using these tensions as an excuse to throw up his hands and declare incoherency. It is here that Carson's supreme expertise in Biblical exegesis becomes evident, and it is a source of comfort to the reader.I was very impressed with Carson's willingness to repeatedly tackle tough questions and not shying away from difficult Scripture passages. As he says numerous times, the book is not necessarily offering full orbed answers to every tough question, but it is offering very sound and compelling thoughts where Scripture is clear, and acknowledging a certain amount of mystery over what is not clear, and clearly defining both. Overall, I felt that the book was extremely balanced and thoroughly grounded in Scripture. This is a book that in my view, properly refrains from the extremes of offering overly simplistic answers that pretend to comprehensively deal with this topic, as well as the extreme of overly appealing to divine mystery as a way of dodging the tough questions. This is the best book I've read on the problem of evil that is something other than a philosophical defense. This is an exegetical defense, and a very good one.Lastly, it needs to be pointed out who ought to read this book. I don't think an unbeliever will get much out of

Carson presents a biblical theology of suffering, though he doesn't put it that way. He looks at the broad sweep of scripture, seeing the bearing it has on the various problems about evil and suffering. He starts with daily life concerns and how we should view our lives, ourselves, God, other people, and what happens to us. He paints the proper perspective gleaned from the whole portrait of God and his actions throughout history across the scriptures and then warns of some serious dangers we might easily fall into when arriving at conclusions or when dealing with hard times.The main focus of the book points to themes throughout scripture. The heart of the book has a chapter on each of the following topics - sin, the various kinds of suffering and evil, God's suffering people, hell and holy war, sickness and death, the final restoration we're moving toward, suffering in the book of Job, and God's own suffering. The final chapters look in depth at the mystery involved in our responsibility in a world in which God is absolutely sovereign (in which Carson defends, biblically, compatibilism about God's sovereignty and our responsibility for what we do), the comfort we can derive from God's sovereign care, and some pastoral reflections about how to live our lives in response to the biblical portrait he's examined. He concludes with a 10-page appendix on AIDS.This is by far the most balanced book I've read on the topic. Most philosophers focus on the problem of evil in intellectual debates and end up saying little of relevance. Most non-philosophers look at how we should respond to suffering in our lives but often in terms of inner psychological matters, as if our own inner problems are the real focus. Alternatively, the popular books could be more or less lists of practical things to do, not always helpful in times of difficulty.Carson gives full treatment to both kinds of problems but is less concerned with debating intellectual arguments, analyzing psychological issues, or listing off which ten things we need to change in our behavior. His focus is on God has revealed himself and acted in history, treating the biblical text as fundamental.This is a balanced Christian focus, and other sorts of things can come out of that. In the end he does give practical suggestions, many requiring a change or development in understanding God and his carrying out his purposes in history. He says plenty to apply to the philosopher's problems of evil. He also deals in depth with hell, sin, human responsibility, and God's own suffering, crucial points in a full Christian response to that sort of problem, far more significant a package than either the standard "free will defense" that fits little with scripture or the Leibnizian "best of all possible worlds" response that doesn't fill in any details of what's so good about it.Carson's treatment of hell, sin, human responsibility, and God's suffering is the place for philosophers to look. Hell isn't the place of torture f

Carson discusses why there is evil in our world, how God can be good and allow evil, the relationship between human moral choice (sometimes called free-will) and divine sovereignty, comforting those in suffering and preparations to make before suffering comes. He has much sound exposition of relevant passages from the Old and New Testaments.Some readers might struggle with its depth. This book is not for the casual reader. But it will repay the serious student many times over. I highly recommend it, especially for pastors and for Christian students in philosophy.