Where Is God In Suffering? New Book By Yale Professors Explores The Big Questions.
(REVIEW) “God doesn’t exist until I turn my attention to him,” Christian Wiman wrote in a letter to his friend Miroslav Volf.
Human beings always experience the absence of God in their lives, especially in hardships. In the book “Glimmerings: Letters on Faith Between a Poet and a Theologian,” two friends engage in a conversation about God as they approach the twilight of their lives.
Volf is a prolific Protestant theologian, and his friend, Wiman, is a renowned poet who has been suffering from cancer for 20 years. As they reflect on God's role amid their midlife crises, they begin to reexamine everything they have known about Him. It exposes various human aspects that might appear in challenges.
While there are many books about God and human suffering, “Glimmerings” offers a unique perspective from real individuals who are both intellectuals and patients. Readers will discover that a deep understanding of God often arises not from simple conversations, but from experiencing tension, expressing screams and engaging in profound reflections.
Overall, this book is for Christians seeking (or helping others to seek) God in their lives.
What does faith In God mean?
Wiman’s experience with illness highlights the profound human fear of abandonment when facing death. As a long-term patient, Wiman expresses that he doesn’t fear death itself, but rather fears dying without God. His relationship with God has been deeply impacted by moments of absence.
Wiman acknowledges that Jesus experienced all types of human suffering, including a lonely death. He sees Jesus as a “model and example” for humanity, rather than a deep personal connection. For him, God represents an endless pursuit that humans must continually seek, which means a restless effort. Despite the powerful declaration, Wiman admits to Volf that he struggles to translate the “mystical sense” of God into a practical daily faith.
However, Volf sees the good side of his friend’s sadness. Wiman believes he is in a state of bad hunger for seeking God, which is the “expectation of permanent fulfillment.” To Volf, it is not bad hunger, “but good hunger that cannot yet be satisfied.”
In the postscript of the letter on March 16, Volf encouraged Wiman, who was undergoing bone marrow transplant, by recalling God’s love for his fragility. Volf feels God is the source of pure love and everything. Humans cannot reach him by merely pursuing, but by staying in and even becoming God’s instruments.
However, Wiman has a genuine problem, and Volf 's belief does not fully address his concerns. Let’s assume that God is love, but is it true that there are times when God disappears, leaving people to face their problems alone? What kind of love is that?
Is God absent when Humans need Him most?
In moments of vulnerability, like those experienced by Wiman, humans tend to think of God as if God were a human who makes promises but then abandons us. Wiman expresses his confusion, stating that he has “no idea what the word ‘exist’ even means in the context of God.”
But feeling is never synonymous with the truth. Volf denies that the empirical lens of seeing God is that “lack of felt presence isn’t absence.” He even challenges that “How could I ultimately trust what needs a certain quality of my attention to come into being?”
Volf thinks the reason for the feeling of God’s absence is the way humans look at God. He reminds us of a recurring idea in the Bible that human beings cannot fully understand God through human lenses. Miroslav refers to the biblical story of Job, for example. Job loves God not for the goods he receives from God, like a business exchange between humans, but because he is aware that God, in his nature, is the highest good.
Volf believes that God’s goodness is not from seeing the world as a wonderful place. Instead, he thinks God believes that human goodness is never truly lost, even when individuals commit evil deeds.
Referring to Genesis, Volf asserts that God loves humans simply because they are God’s creations, which aligns with the idea that “all things are good.” He believes God transforms human wickedness into goodness through divine love. Even when humans experience pain, God utilizes suffering as a means to set them free. Volf insists that God is neither absent nor asleep in the world; rather, God is actively present, demonstrating love for humankind.
Wiman reflects on a fundamental belief in Christianity regarding how God can save humans from suffering: “The incarnation is a promise that any aspect of matter can be sacralized — even our most animal instances.”
This idea is intriguing because it underscores the notion that God’s love involves descending into the depths of humanity, experiencing all aspects of being human, and ultimately lifting humanity toward God’s goodness.
“Glimmerings” is structured as a series of intellectual letters between close friends. The writing style is straightforward and accessible to most readers. Since the authors are colleagues at Yale Divinity School, they occasionally reference scholars or personal experiences that may be unfamiliar to the general audience.
However, these details are minor and serve to support their feelings and opinions in the conversation. At times, their memories are as valuable, if not more so, than their theological ideas.
Thien Bui is a Vietnamese writer who specializes in the history and religions of Southeast Asia.