¶ … God I Don't Understand: Reflections on Tough Questions of Faith Preface and Introduction

The Preface explains why Wright chose to write this book. He felt that it could be a more personal and humble approach to God than that achieved in his other books, which were about "knowing God." In this book, Wright wants to address some of the more confusing aspects of God. He justifies this approach by showing how God Himself points out that His ways are not our ways in Scripture. This is a valid point, and what Wright is doing is drawing attention to the fact that we are not God's equals and therefore should not try to humanize Him but rather should try to understand that He knows and sees all and therefore has a good reason for why He commands and does things that might seem disturbing or odd to us.

However, in Wright's Introduction, he explains his struggles with the things God allows to happen, such as why God allows some to suffer more than others. He notes that as he grows older, he seems to understand God less and less, though his love and trust are unwavering. There appears to be some disconnect here and it is this disconnect that the author is attempting to resolve. As Wright notes, the best we can do is at least try to get rid of some of the answers to our questions that are incorrect and which lead us away from the truth or from a better understanding of God -- even if we cannot arrive at a complete comprehension of Him (after all, we do not enjoy the beatific vision, that is, see Him face-to-face here on earth). But Wright follows in the footsteps of Abraham, who is the first Biblical person to question God directly regarding God's fair dealings with man. Starting, therefore, with Abraham, Wright runs down the list of Old Testament characters who speak to God and have an intimate conversation with Him, often questioning Him, that helps us today to put into perspective our own frustrations. From Abraham on down to Hagar, Moses, Naomi, David, Elijah, Job, and so on, right down to Christ Himself on the cross when he cries out, "My God, why have you forsaken me?" -- all of this points to the puzzling question that remains a mystery. Why does God do what He does? Indeed, it is a good question and not one that we should shy away from, because it shows the depth of our concern, grief, feeling, etc. Yet, it should not shake our faith either, if we have learned our lessons from Job, David, and Christ. Faith is our anchor, as Wright concludes in his Introduction.

Chapter 1

While the mystery of iniquity is one that will not go away, there is no question about moral evil, Wright asserts in Chapter 1. It is just something that one must accept. Moral evil is explained very clearly as a result of Satan's fall (due to pride) and Adam's fall (due to temptation) -- this was the foundation of sin in the world and of suffering. This was moral evil and in turn there appeared natural evil. Suffering does not always have to proceed directly from sin, for sometimes it can be an indirect effect. But it does have its root or seed in sin, somewhere down the line -- in the original sin of Adam and Eve. This is the logical answer. Yet there is the other question, the human, emotional question that is not satisfied by logic: the question of how God can allow such evil and suffering to go on.

Wright explores this question by analyzing Job and Psalm 130 as well as other books of the Old Testament to develop a better understanding of evil and why God permits it. This helps the intellect to gain better control of the emotional perplexity that we can feel as a result of frustration. Nonetheless, we are still perplexed at the existence of evil -- that it should exist at all -- when in the light of reason it makes no sense. Wright states that this is actually a good thing to realize. Evil should not make sense to us and we should be perplexed and frightened by it. It is horrific and wrong and unjust...

The more we grow in His light, the more we turn away from the confusion and darkness and error of evil and sin -- and that is the main point that Wright makes in Chapter 1. We should not be so upset that we are confused by the existence of evil in the world. Evil is meant to be confusing -- that is what Satan wants: confusion. Rather, we should realize that doubt comes from the devil and that God wants us to be firm in faith. As for suffering, we can follow Christ's example and embrace it, uniting our suffering to His, and we can also try to relieve the suffering of others as Christ Himself does -- for instance when He raises Lazarus from the dead to erase the grief of his sisters.
Chapter 2

In Chapter 2, Wright discusses the Offence of Evil. By this he means that evil is to the soul what an infection is to the body. Just as the body fights against an infection, so too does the soul fight against evil through a number of ways: and in this manner, it is okay for us to object or protest against evil because some of the most respected characters in the Bible do the same thing. Wright asserts that it is good for us to fight against evil, to voice our frustrations with it, to lament it, to grieve about it -- and he suggests that the Bible actually shows us how to do this. We can grieve, so long as we aren't griping. We can lament, so long as it is done in a manner that is directed towards God with the expectation and trust that He will hear. Although the why? question is asked all over again, the way to look at it now is approached from a different angle. Wright asserts that it is not likely that every terrible suffering is a judgment for sin or a curse, and so we are not wrong to question or grieve -- but the way to do it is with faith in God.

Thus Wright focuses on and emphasizes how we are made in the likeness of God and therefore we are compelled to feel mercy and charity for those who suffer -- after all, Christ did when He was on the earth and walked among us and shed tears for His people. This is, in fact, exactly what God wants us to do. He wants to see that we care deeply for others and that we will bring our troubles to Him. That is why He allows us to feel so terribly all the griefs that others suffer. He knows that we in our puny ways can do little to actually help or heal -- but He on the other hand can do anything. So in a way, we are being tested like Job to see if we will turn to God for answers, for relief, for consolation, for anything and everything. If we feel sorrow it is a good thing, for we have a place to go and God wants to help us with our sorrows. It is a truly great place to be at -- even when we lament and protest that so many people do not deserve misfortune. We can importune and plead, but in the end we are not God and we are in no position to judge Him or His works. Nonetheless, we can ask about them and the Bible shows us how to do that, in the Psalms especially -- for example, when David cries, "How long, O Lord, how long?" It is a lament, a cry for pity, but in it is also an act of faith -- and that is the most important thing -- that trust that is implicit in the cry.

Chapter 3

In Chapter 3, Wright examines the Defeat of Evil. Here Wright shows how we should not only accept evil and lament it, but how we should also rejoice in its defeat. Christ, after all, came to conquer sin, and with Him we can rejoice in the Redemption and in the victory over death that Christ has given us. Thus there is a pattern to the Bible and to the Christian life: there is the joyful acceptance life, the sorrowful experience of life (and suffering), and the miraculous Redemption and Resurrection that Christ's Passion gives to us. In this manner, Christians can unite themselves still more fully to God through an awareness of evil and the sense that…