How Can A Good God let Bad Things happen?

I'm continuing to review books and this is my second for Navpress.

How Can A Good God Let Bad Things Happen? by Mark Tabb

Most of us don’t want to admit we can’t figure God out. Instead we try to explain him away. And when we hear someone cry out that God isn’t being fair … we step in with our best God talk and give that person all the answers. (p38)

I wasn’t sure what to expect picking up this book by Mark Tabb. There are so many classic books trying to face down the problem of evil and the problem of suffering and I was wondering "Not another heady intellectual exploration!" I was pleasantly surprised. The problem of suffering is, in reality, neither a theological nor a philosophical problem, it is an existential one. The book comes at issues reflecting on real life and Job’s reflections of life and at the same time holds theological and philosophical insights in tension. Each time as emotional responses came from me to something I read, the following chapter provided a deep insight. This is an unusual book well worth reading because it really doesn’t solve the problem but you feel like yours and Job’s issues have been addressed fairly and realistically. It is a simple book to read without being simplistic about the problem, made all the more difficult when desiring to maintain the notion of the sovereignty of God..