Review: The Question That Never Goes Away

The Question That Never Goes Away by Philip Yancey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Where can we find comfort and healing?

When tragedy and violence strikes, victims and the rest of the world want to know "why." We think that if we can just figure out the reasons why bad and evil things happen, we will find solace and comfort. Those who specialize in grief know otherwise. Answers to the "why" question may satisfy our intellectual curiosity and perhaps offer some place to lay blame and anger, but it does not offer comfort or healing.

Philip Yancey, in The Question That Never Goes Away, states flat out that the Bible does not pretend to answer the "why" question related to suffering, violence, and evil. For Christians to try to answer this question, with or without the Bible, is misguided and frequently results in more harm than good. Rather, Yancey suggests that what the Bible does describe is a God incarnate who suffers with us, who walks with us in our pain, and who promises that the results of evil will someday be redeemed toward good. Yancey writes that the Church is part of God's person in the world today whose work is to be with those who are suffering.

Yancey suggests that God does not provide answers to "why" because to do so would turn focus away from the affected peoples to the situation. When things go wrong (not necessarily tragic events), governments, businesses, and other organizations want answers to "why" so they can prevent future problems. We want to fix life so that it is safe and secure. Perhaps God does not give the "why" because part of the reason is that life cannot be "fixed" in the manner we would like.

Yancey is very clear in his writing that he does not believe in God's agency in tragic events; i.e., God does not cause or desire bad things to happen. In other words, "God is not in control" as opposed to the way popular Christianity often portrays God and his (assumed) sovereignty. According to Yancey, God values freedom so much that he does not overwhelm and overrule human freedom to do evil. God's sovereignty is not found in his power and might, but in his love. Love cannot exist without freedom to reject love and work against it. Thus God values freedom over control.

Yancey does not present any new, groundbreaking material in this book. What he does is incorporate his experiences working with survivors and victims from recent tragic events such as the tsunami that hit northeast Japan, the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, and others. He updates his earlier insights in light of these new experiences.

God does not provide answers to "why" but he has provided for "where" the world can find comfort, healing, and redemption. This book will likely not satisfy our intellectual desires. What it does is encourage us to become agents of love in a world that hurts, and thus be part of God's redeeming and transforming process in the world.

(This review is based on an advance review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.)

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