BOOK REVIEW
Barnes in Common recommends.....
DEVOUT SCEPTICS – Conversations on Faith and Doubt
This is very relevant reading at a time when we are bombarded by bad
news of terrorist activities on our transport system and harrowing pictures
of starving children in Niger.
How do we make sense of all this and where is God in a world where
such tragic things happen? This is the big question that never seems
to find an answer, because we don't know (or perhaps "only
God knows" – if you are a believer of course).
Bel Mooney hosted a radio programme on Radio 4, interviewing many well
known figures and seeking their answers to questions like those above.
The book covers twenty such figures and kicks off with Kate Adie, a
face often seen at the epicentre of tragic events, who gives her own
ideas, borne from her attempts to understand what lies behind what is
happening.
A much covered topic is the one where immense suffering can be transforming
and how this process can have a positive effect on people when the pain
has been worked through.
Ben Okri highlights the paradox of the poorest countries in the world,
where suffering may be severe, but people's faith and joy is often
greatest. Certainly the less you have the happier you may seem to be,
while great riches can bring utter misery.
This book is an honest and touching account of people's faith,
where their faith began, if it stayed and how they have come to terms
with suffering and pain. Much food for thought.
Rosie Findlater |
