God Can't: A book review

God Can’t

How to Believe in God and Love After Tragedy, Abuse, and Other Evils

by Thomas Jay Oord

SacraSage Publishing, 2019

For the last few years, a group of people from my church have hosted a theology discussion group. It meets every summer, and we invite people with expertise in theology and philosophy to share with us on a theological/philosophical topics. Several of our members teach at one of our local Christian universities, and between them and the network of people they know, we have had a wealth of perspectives on topics ranging from Open Theism to Pacifism to Violence in the Old Testament and so on. These summer discussions have been very formative for me. One significant effect of these discussions is learning how many very different views there are of what the Bible has to say on many, many subjects. I don’t always agree with what our speakers have to say, but I have learned to listen and engage with many different ideas without feeling threatened by them.

I say this because God Can’t by Thomas Jay Oord will most definitely make some people uncomfortable. He is well aware his premise there are things that God cannot do pushes against long-held conventional beliefs about the nature of God.

I heard Tom speak last February and again last June about the topics he writes about in God Can’t. I had lots of questions for him, the most significant one being if what you say is true, how should I pray? He responds to that question and many others in this book to reach anyone who has ever been through difficult times and was not satisfied with others’ response as to why God “let” this happen or God “made” this happen.

The book is directly and thoughtfully written, born out of a desire to help those affected by the evils of this world. Tom brings a wealth of both scholarship and lived experience to his message. Several times I found myself writing down questions in the margin only to have him address those very questions later in the book. He also provides questions at the end of each chapter for reflection or group discussion. My personal recommendation is to read the book one section at a time. Wrestle with each chapter before moving on to the next. I also suggest reading it and discussing it with others in a group setting. As Tom uses his own and the experiences of others as examples, the experiences of others in a group setting can be beneficial to absorbing the concepts in God Can’t. Finally, I encourage you to look through the chapter questions before reading the chapter. Not every question provided will work as a pre-reading reflection, but a lot of them will. I think in doing so, you will be more prepared for his assertions as he makes them.

I want to leave you with one of his ideas that is resonating most with me having finished the book: God needs our cooperation to make a difference in this world. In chapter five, Tom quotes Teresa of Avila,

Christ has no body but yours,

No hands no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,

Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,

Yours are the eyes, you are his body.

Tom does not suggest this in a literal way. Instead, he says, “the Spirit who has no physical frame calls us to use pour physicality to express God’s love. Like a mind influencing a body without controlling it, God influences us” (p. 157). When we listen to that influence, we have an impact on the world around us. That idea calls to my spirit. God not only loves me, But He also needs me, and I can work with Him to make the world a better place.

I can’t guarantee you will agree with Tom’s vision of God’s character and how that impacts how we understand the terrible things that happen to us. I can assure you will think about your beliefs about it.

God Can’t is available for purchase now in bookstores. Currently, the ebook format is only available for Kindle. However, it will soon be available in all ebook formats.

Good Turn Update

$6,014.34

That's how much BooMama's blog campaign raised for Kelli. This is more than enough, I assume, to keep her COBRA insurance in place until her new insurance kicks in and to help pay for some of the miscellaneous expenses that come along. In addition to the funds raised by BooMama, friends and family of Kelli, in response to hearing about what BooMama was doing, sent checks directly to Kelli totaling approximately $2400. That makes a grand total of:

$8,414.34

Not too shabby, I'd say. You can read what BooMama has to say about it here.

An Invitation to do a Good Turn

"God, without insurance, I will die. I will not get transplant. And we have about 6 weeks to figure this out.

I'm struggling with my ability to trust you in this and I'm crying out that you will give us peace.

I know you are able. but I'm so tired of being tired and afraid and stressed and crying that I just struggle to pray anymore.

Abba Father- I'm crying out for mercy and the ability to live."

Kelli over at Living in Grace wrote these words just over a week ago. Her friend, BooMama, read them and desired to help her friend. Kelli is in need of a kidney transplant. In addition to that, there are issues with the family insurance and a need to go on COBRA insurance. If you have ever dealt with COBRA, you will know that it is quite expensive. BooMama has set up a PayPal account to help Kelli with money to keep her insurance. On January 16th, there will be a link on BooMama's site to that account. One day. That's it. On that day, you can contribute to the fund to help Kelli keep her insurance. If you want to read more about why BooMama is doing this, read her Let the Lovin' Begin post. To read Kelli's post, which is in the form of a prayer, Just Me God. BooMama does not have a specific amount in mind--the PayPal account will take as little as $1.50. The donations will be anonymous.

January 16, 2007

Do a Good Turn

This issue came to my attention through Pam over at MarillaAnne. She became aware of this situation which she has asked me to share on my blog. (I am one of Pam's Alliance bloggers. We have agreed to promote issues when appropriate at each other's places.)