A Nidderdale Vicar who says books about suffering are usually too “academic, or heavy” or “give glib answers” has written a book himself.
The Revd Alastair Ferneley, the vicar of Dacre with Hartwith and Darley with Thornthwaite, in Nidderdale has written “Because of Love. Why is there suffering? A Christian response.”
Alastair said, “One of the most common questions I get asked as a vicar is ‘Why is there so much suffering in the world? There aren’t any easy answers that anyone can just roll off the tongue.
“I’ve always wanted a book I could give to folk who really want to think about this, and although a lot have been written, I’ve always found them a bit academic, or heavy, or they just give glib answers I don’t find very helpful. So, I wrote one myself.”
The author says the book is short enough to read in an afternoon and is written for ‘ordinary Christians or interested agnostics’ who want to think seriously about what Christian faith has to say to questions posed by the existence of evil and suffering in the world.
“While it would give Theology and Philosophy of Religion students plenty to chew over it is written primarily for the ordinary Christian who wrestles with the questions posed by suffering – for those who agonize or puzzle or are troubled by the attacks of atheists that they don’t know how to answer,” said Alistair.
He added, “It refuses to give glib answers to deep questions, that are attached to raw emotions, but argues strongly that the Christian tradition has a lot to say about this area. Indeed, the Christian faith was born out of deep reflection about suffering, and can make much better sense of the world as we experience it than atheism can. I hope people will find it helpful.”
The book has been independently published and is available on Amazon here for £4.99 (Kindle version £3.99).