In the short book, If I Were God, I'd End All the Pain, John Dickson is not afraid to ask the question "Why?" In fact, he believes it's a healthy question that God Himself invites. The author shows that while there is still much mystery woven into our suffering, we can also be confident that Christianity provides the very best explanation for evil and suffering.
After showing why suffering does not disprove God philosophically (ch. 1), the author explains how four alternative faiths attempt to explain suffering.
- Hinduism views suffering as karma, i.e. bringing balance for past wrongs.
- Buddhism, which actually developed from Buddha's quest to explain suffering, believes all suffering is just an illusion. It stems from a desire or affection for things of the world (e.g. comfort, health, money, love, etc.). If we can simply strip away these desires and enter a state of nirvana (non-existence), then suffering will cease.
- Islam believes all things are pre-determined by God, and that suffering is a direct result of Allah, the great "Unmoved Mover."
- Atheism endures suffering as the natural, unhappy by-product of our random, godless universe.
The author does not merely explain suffering, but provides three comforting truths that give hope and peace even in times of suffering:
- God will eventually judge and repay all the injustice in the world.
- God will eventually restore and re-create His world in perfection.
- By sending His Son to the cross, God Himself has suffered to the greatest degree, and through His suffering provides a substitute for us, so that we do not have to spend eternity apart from Him.
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