God in a Hurting World

"Heartfelt and soul felt, Rev. Dr. John Borden's God in a Hurting World, will be theologically challenging for some, but spiritually comforting for all. Rather than telling us what to think, Dr. Borden's scripture-based format of question, answer, quotation and reflection tackles those cosmic questions of evil and justice, while helping each reader to re-discover God the healer, the consoler, and source of all hope in a faith-challenged world. He writes, 'The story of God and humanity is a love story.' Amen." - Michael William Dixon, D.Min. Local, Regional, and National Critic and Media Personality; Spiritual Director, Dream Catcher Assisted Living Homes; Board Member, Sky Harbor Airport Chaplaincy, Phoenix, Arizona. The endorsement above, by Michael Dixon, D.Min., captures well the spirit of Borden's book. The heart of the book is a journey into God, God's purpose for humanity and God's love for humanity. The book is written for the lay reader but contains ample references for the scholar. Creation occurred on purpose and is connected to eternity on purpose, on God's purpose and for God's purpose. This connection is critical because of the operating premise that God is supreme and has done, is doing and will be doing everything on purpose and with a purpose. The supreme God has a plan and the plan began before creation and is set to include all of eternity. Humanity's time on earth fits into this purpose and is part of God's plan for participating with God in a loving relationship. The difficulty in seeing this journey from creation into eternity as consistent with a loving God is the hurting world we see and experience all around us. Borden tackles the seeming disconnect by exploring the subjects of evil and suffering head on and makes the connection between what we see and God's loving involvement with humanity with persuasive reason and grace. A key aspect of this book is to connect the various aspects of our relationship with God tog