What Good is God?: Crises, faith, and resilience

by Roger Abbott (Editor), Robert White FRS (Editor)

Overview

In a world where natural disasters are increasingly impacting our lives, this insightful book brings together a variety of voices to discuss how we can respond practically and faithfully to such tragedies.

Consciously making room for the perspectives of survivors, responders, and academics, it provides a multi-layered and compassionate examination of a difficult and often underexplored subject. As we try to make sense of a seemingly chaotic world that features earthquakes, tsunamis, and pandemics, readers will find this unique conversation a truly ispiring resource for thought, prayer, and action.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780857219664
Publisher:	Monarch Books
Publication date:	11/20/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Roger Abbott is Senior Research Associate in ‘Natural’ Disasters for The Faraday Institute, Cambridge. Following many years in pastoral work, where his first introductions to responding to disasters were learned, he went on to gain his Ph.D. in a practical theology of major incident response in the U.K., before expanding his research experience more globally with The Faraday Institute. His publications include Sit on Our Hands, or Stand on Our Feet? (2013), Hello? Is Anyone There?, and Narratives of Faith from the Haiti Earthquake (2019). He has published in journals such as Religions and Practical Theology. He has also been a volunteer chaplain responder to major disasters in the U.K. and abroad. He is the author of What Good is God by Monarch. 

Professor Robert (Bob) White is Professor of Geophysics in the Department of Earth Sciences at Cambridge and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1994. He is Director of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion. He is the author of Who is to Blame and What Good is God? by Monarch.

Table of Contents

Contents

Acknowledgments 9

Introduction 10

Chapter 1. Disasters: Natural or Unnatural? 19
Robert White

Chapter 2. Disasters, Injustice, and the Goodness of Creation 36
Jonathan Moo

Chapter 3. “What Good is God?” Disasters, Faith,
and Resilience 55
Roger Abbott

Chapter 4. Physician Heal Thyself: His Grace is Sufficient 73
Linda Mobula

Chapter 5. Disasters, Blame, and Forgiveness (with Special Reference to the
“Lockerbie Disaster”) 90
John Mosey

Chapter 6. Haitian Womanhood, Faith, and Earthquakes 109
Marie and Lucie

Chapter 7. Disaster: What Survivors Think, and How Best to Help 124
Luc Honorat

Chapter 8. How One Church Survived Hurricane Katrina (and What They Learned, with the Help of God) 138
Ken Taylor

Chapter 9. Climate Change: A Disaster in Progress 154
Hugh Rollinson

Chapter 10. COVID-19 Pandemic: A Christian Perspective 171
Robert White and Roger Abbott

Afterword 185
Roger Abbott and Robert White

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“If you read, learn, and inwardly digest both the science and the
faith in this book, which earths the theology of suffering in the
raw experiences of those who have suffered, then your faith will
be more intelligent, your empathy more compassionate and your
commitment to act more justly will be more determined.”

The Right Reverend James Jones, KBE, formerly Bishop of Liverpool
and Chair of the Independent Hillsborough Panel

“Twenty-four hour news coverage constantly reminds us of the
prevalence of disasters across the world and within our own
communities. How are we to understand the presence of God in the
midst of such disasters? In this book, Roger Abbott and Robert White
bring together a series of essays that each seek not only to help us
to understand disasters theologically, but also how we can build
communities of resilience and hope that can change the world.”

Revd Professor John Swinton, Professor in Practical Theology
and Pastoral Care, School of Divinity, History and Philosophy,

Editorial Reviews

An insightful collection of articles investigating practical and faith reponses to disasters.

From the Publisher