From the time we make Jesus our Lord and Saviour until the time we will see him in our heavenly home, we are each on a journey of faith. In his collection of short teaching books, Jim Bryden draws alongside us as a travel companion, helping us to understand the map of God's Word and to avoid dead-ends and danger zones along the path.

This book tackles many of the difficult questions concerning suffering. How can a good God allow people to suffer? Does God experience our pain? What is the purpose of suffering in the life of a Christian?

___________________

In the fourth and final stage of his Journey of Faith, Jim Bryden comes face to face with the problem of suffering – perhaps the greatest challenge faced by anyone who seeks to 'justify the ways of God to man'. He offers a simple and sensitive study, summarising the views of prominent Christian thinkers, and blending biblical teaching with lessons from personal experience. Offering no easy answers, Jim Bryden invites his readers – singly or in group discussion – to look for God's presence in the suffering of Jesus Christ, who stood – and still stands – 'alongside the broken and lost'.

Dr John Coutts M.A., B.D., Ph.D.
Formerly Senior Lecturer in Theology,
University of Greenwich

Jim Bryden draws on a wide range of sources to address the big philosophical and theological questions raised by the existence of suffering in the world. Human experience and personal testimony sit comfortably alongside Jewish and Christian scholarship in the quest for insight. The author is not afraid to consider other philosophical approaches, and he addresses the problem of suffering as a cause of loss of faith and downright unbelief.

There are no easy answers or anodyne explanations in this book. Suffering is real and, to some extent, universal. The ultimate question is not, 'How can an omnipotent and loving God allow evil to exist?' but, 'Where is God in all of this?'

Lieut-Colonel Ian Barr B.D., M.A.
Salvation Army Officer in Retirement