Product Description

No part of the Bible goes unstudied in this book's search for God's hidden nature.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41899 in Books
• Published on: 1997-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 336 pages

From the Back Cover
Is God Unfair? Is God Silent? Is God Hidden? These questions are asked with piercing honesty and biblical certainty. Step by step, Philip Yancey retraces the long journey toward understanding the answers to these and other questions. If God desires our love, why does he sometimes put obstacles in the way? Why does he seem so distant? What can we expect from him after all? No part of the Bible goes unstudied in the author's search for God's hidden nature in this compelling and profound book. A Gold Medallion Award winner, Disappointment with God has had an overwhelming impact on many lives -- it can change yours.

About the Author
Philip Yancey serves as editor-at-large for Christianity Today magazine. He has written twelve Gold Medallion Award-winning books, including "Where is God when it Hurts", "Disappointment with God", and "The Gift of Pain. His books "The Jesus I Never Knew" and "What’s So Amazing About Grace?" were also awarded the Christian Book of the Year. He is also the author of "The Bible Jesus Read".

Customer Reviews

An honest approach to a difficult subject
I was quite sceptical when I read this book, expecting all the usual Christian cliches. I didn't find them!

The first part of the book starts with three questions which so many Christians ask, Why does God seem unfair, why does God seem silent and why does God seem hidden.

Philip Yancey takes you on a journey from the Old Testament to the Cross through to now, examining these three questions and how God has related to humanity. He draws inspiration from the Bible (in a non-cringy way) and from secular writings.

In the second part of the book, Yancey draws this all together and looks at how Christians can respond, using Job as one example among many.

The book is clear, honest, challenging and a very easy read. If you have ever asked the three questions then I recommend you read this book.

A sensitive approach to an important subject
I've read the negative customer reviews below and I find them baffling. I rate this book on several levels and I recommned it to absolutely anyone as I am sure that through it those who do not have a Christian faith will find valuable insight into the mind set of those who do.

Here are my reasons for applauding this book:
The central idea is not a explination of why suffering happens, a timeless question which many writers have explored and continue to. The real idea at the heart of this book is the notion that God deliberately with draws his presence from his followers for periods of time in order to bring about greater maturity in them. I find this theory to have a strong foundation in the bible, it matches my personal expirience and I have a friend who wrote a thiesis on this subject. Saddly this is the only book I've read that deals with this idea and I expect that few have been written. I have rarely heard this idea spoken about in churches or at Christian conferences.

Yancey writes with a journalistic conversational style and makes for an easy and engaging read. I have read few books that deal with such a serious subject matter that you can really loose yourself in. This was one of them.

Ultimately I accept that how much you rate this book may depend on whether or not you agree with Yancey's arguments. But whatever your point of view, this book deserves credit for being such a readable, enjoyable and coherently argued exploration of a largely ignored subject.

Ignore the critics and read this book.

Good story-telling way of dealing with spiritual loneliness
This is a very good book. It's important because it relates the problems not only to the Biblical narrative but also to people's real life stories, and shows up how, for example in the case of Yancey's friend Richard, certain Christian groups are very bad at giving a good, honest grounding in Christian spirituality and build up false expectations in order to make the group more enticing (I'm thinking of student evangelical fellowships actually). Personally, I have only two criticisms of the book; first, Yancey talks about 'divine shyness' when he would have been on more orthodox footing talking of divine humility. Second, his understanding of the Holy Spirit is not personal enough and is vague; it assumes that the Spirit will automatically be found in any Christian church. This view isn't born out by the Bible, which sees the Spirit as God, and as leading Christians in their lives. However he does make a good case for staying a Christian through hard times and serving others rather than being a Christian only for one's own sake. It was a humbling read.