Raging with Compassion: Pastoral Responses to the Problem of Evil - Softcover

Swinton, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 080282997X ISBN 13: 9780802829979

Publisher: Eerdmans, 2007

Synopsis

Can we defend God's love, goodness, and power in a world scarred by violence and suffering? Do we need to? Traditional attempts to explain the problem of evil have mostly seen it as a philosophical and theological task. In this book John Swinton reminds readers that the experience of evil and suffering precedes pontification on its origin. Raging with Compassion seeks to inspire fresh Christian responses and modes of practice in our broken, fallen world.

About this title

About the Author

John Swinton is professor of practical theology andpastoral care at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, andfounding director of the Centre for Spirituality, Health,and Disability at Aberdeen. His other books includeSpirituality and Mental Health Care, Resurrecting thePerson, and From Bedlam to Shalom.

Review

Iain Torrance
— Princeton Theological Seminary
"It takes a particular gift, persuasiveness, and credibility to challenge a paradigm so ingrained and so evaded by a generation of textbooks. Long experience as both a mental health nurse and a theologian has given John Swinton that credibility. The community of Christians, gathered around a suffering Lord, has unique resilience to respond to evil creatively. This hopeful book recovers a theodicy of action and faithfulness. It has immense pastoral value."

James N. Poling
— Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
"What should pastoral leaders do with the problem of evil? The arguments about theodicy in seminary are always inadequate in a real pastoral encounter. In this creative book John Swinton develops a practical theology of theodicy for the ministry of the church that focuses on lament, forgiveness, thoughtfulness, and friendship. For the first time, we have an approach that combines the best in theology with the best in ministry practices. Every pastoral leader should read this book!"

Margaret E. Mohrmann
— University of Virginia, Charlottesville
"Attentive compassion, the hallmark of Christian life and work in the world, permeates this book. John Swinton courageously tackles what is truly difficult about theodicy — not the intellectual question, which he sets aside with clarity and care, but the requirements of authentic ministry in the face of actual experiences of evil or suffering. The edifying result is a set of luminous and compelling essays on the emotionally wrenching but morally formative practices of lament, forgiveness, thoughtfulness, and hospitality. Raging with Compassion shows us the contours of a 'theodicy' of sense and beauty, one that can sustain life within a faithful, hopeful Christian community."

Bonnie Miller-McLemore
— Vanderbilt University Divinity School
"This is the new practical theology at its best — engaging theology not as some kind of distant abstraction but in the midst of the most dire human struggles with evil and suffering. Not only does John Swinton bring theology and theodicy down to earth with verve and sensitivity, but he also offers a plethora of wise advice about practices that ward off evil — lament, forgiveness, thoughtfulness, friendship — which warrant our full and lively engagement."

Christian Century
"It would be hard to imagine a more accessible and thoughtful book to use for a general class that addresses both the philosophy of religion and the reality of the church."

Edition details

• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 080282997X
• ISBN 13: 9780802829979
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 272