Why Does God Allow Evil? by Clay Jones

There are many books in print trying to explain why Christians believe in an all powerful good God yet find we have evil in the world. I have read many of them. I think this one stands out.

Jones writes that it took him over twenty years to write this book. It shows. There is a deepness of thought and presentation that I have not seen in other books on the topic. He has studied the subject well, reading many books as well as pursuing Scripture.

A few of his many teachings stood out to me. One was his questioning whether there were any “good” people. The question of why bad things happen to good people looses its meaning when we realize that there are not any good people. Jones uses history and Scripture to prove his point.

Another part of the book I particularly appreciated was his teaching on evil entering the world through Adam's sin. I understood his explanation of why we are punished for Adam's sin. We are born with a nature inclined to sin – related to why there are no good people. Even though I had studied this topic, I found new insights from Jones.

This is a book for Christians. It explains why a good God has good purposes for allowing evil. Jones writes about being prepared for eternity, comparing the suffering here with the experience there. Lest readers think he knows nothing of suffering, he shares his own experience with excruciating pain from bone cancer.

Jones does a great job of answering the arguments of critics, such as atheists. He points out the fallacy of their arguments clearly.

I highly recommend this book to Christians who want a biblically based and well reasoned explanation as to why an all powerful and good God allows evil. Jones wants our understanding to be shaped by what Scripture says and he presents that well.

My rating: 5/5 stars.

Clay Jones (DMin) is associate professor of Christian apologetics at Biola University. He has hosted a syndicated talk radio show and is the chairman of the board of Ratio Christi, a university apologetics ministry. He and his wife live in southern California. You can follow his blog at http://www.clayjones.net/.

Harvest House, 272 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.