Title: God: Accused or Defended? Solving the Unsolvable Paradox
Author: Larry E. Ford
Publisher: WestBow Press
ISBN: 1490876677
Pages: 216
Genre: Religion/ Non-Fiction
Reviewed by: Allison Walker
Pacific Book Review
Why does God let bad things happen to good people? This is the question that haunts author Larry E. Ford after his sister is killed in a tragic childhood accident. If God wanted my sister to join him in Heaven, why did he choose such a brutal way to bring her home? Ford muses. In his novel, God: Accused or Defended? Solving the Unsolvable Paradox, Ford challenges our definition of an omni-benevolent, omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent God; attempting to answer the question of why bad things happen to good people.
In his book, Ford tackles the “trilemma” as defined by Ronald M. Green when he wrote about the omnipotent God, who is fully good, yet still allows evil to exist. To solve this paradox, Ford answers questions based on scripture, but also in length and with a tumbler of different methods. For example, Ford’s studies into linguistics mean many of his answers include part translation, part definition and part interpretation. His argument and approach to the trilemma are intriguing. Instead of attempting to disprove one component and make sense of the remaining two, Ford questions how “omniscience” is defined. He explores what omniscient really means and whether the Christian God can be a learning god and yet retain his omniscience.
It’s a novel approach to an old question and it works in Ford’s favor. His many examples, based on both scripture and various dictionaries, work to support his argument that a learning or investigative God can retain Godly attributes. In a strictly informative sense, Ford’s book is a great one for furthering Bible study. His broad use of Biblical examples show a familiarity with the Book and the way he explains these stories must make for great presentations at the pulpit. Altogether a knowledgeable and entertaining narrator, his novel approach is a refreshing one to the mournful trilemma.
As a pastor, Ford is very well spoken and extremely well educated. As a teacher, his novel is long-winded and complex. If readers are truly interested in the trilemma, God: Accused or Defended? needs two reads. Ford packs a lot of information into a relatively short book. Despite the onslaught of knowledge, as an author, Ford brings everything together nicely at the end of each chapter. God: Accused or Defended? is a rich and complex wealth of information. It is a new and refreshing solution to an age-old paradox. Ford tries to produce a text which any layperson could read and understand if only he or she puts aside their current conceptions and opens their mind to new ideas.
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