The Wonder of the Cross: The God Who Uses Evil and Suffering to Destroy Evil and Suffering Hardcover – Import, 8 May 2013

Rick Shenk writes what I believe is an extremely well researched, challenging and and critically important book to wrestle with in respect to how evil plays a role in the design of what God created. This is an extremely complex topic for us all to wrestle with for people of faith or those who use the development or existence of evil as counter to how God and Christ can be considered good or worth following. However, in perfect design you see how evil is conquered by itself at the cross.This book is full of historical views of the subject of evil and how it plays out in the story of Christ and in life today. This book is written in a manner where Rick takes us on a journey of his hypothesis and he rightly and humbly works through each point using scripture as the base and the works/thoughts of scholars as well.In the end, I agree with his conclusion that evil is defeated by itself through Christ's death "at the cross, evil is conquered by evil" The hope we have in life is that Christ gives us forgiveness, salvation and defeats evil at the cross.This book is challenging in subject and takes dedicated time to be intentional about learning and understanding the points being made but it truly develops and pushes thinking beyond your normal books but set against the topic of evil this makes a great deal of logic and sense. I greatly enjoyed the journey through the book and the conclusion. I would recommend this to anyone who is challenged by this subject as a believer or not.

As a follower of Christ based on the regenerative work of God's Spirit, I am even more enriched in my love for God in this momentary affliction of pain and suffering of this world. I am grateful to God to use Rick (his servant) to help me draw near to God in hope for the future consummation and Christification that awaits me and to all those who await for his appearing. "The Wonder of the Cross" has helped me understand that God uses suffering and evil as means that He has purposed (though not caused) for his goals for us in glorification. The second Adam is indeed the better freedom!

Recent debates by atheists and theists highlighted the problem of evil and suffering in the world. I wanted to know more about this topic that aroused such strong emotional concern that not only convinced them there was no God but empowered a missionary zeal to convince other to believe this as well.Shenk explores the problem of evil and suffering and encourages the readers to develop their own personal opinion of this crucial issue. Shenk reviews for you the history of free-will and evil and suffering looking at the thoughts of philosophers and theologians. He notes on page 3 that the current statement of the problem of evil began with Epicurus who lived 341-270 BCE.The first half of the book is a historical review of first the concept of free-will, second the concept of evil, and third the concept of theodicy i.e. how evil can exist if God is good and all powerful. The first section requires attentiveness and concentration to understand and provides a valuable background as a basis for forming a personal position on God and evil.In the second half of the book, Shenk sets out his view in three hypothesis that he tests against the history of the first half, the teachings of scripture and the writings of modern authors. By page 300, the end of the book, the effort made to complete each section will be rewarded with an understanding of the philosophical and theological problem of evil and suffering and will have led the reader to an informed opinion and personal belief about evil and suffering as it is experienced in every person’s life. The book’s strength is the foundation it gives for the understanding of Shenk’s theodicy so readers can build their own theodicy and hopefully say what Shenk says about his: “It fits well in the biblical, historic, and theological tradition of the church and may lead us to truth, which will help us to find hope in suffering.” Page 298An example of miscellaneous things the book provided me included thought provoking statements such as on page 295 “What if the only possibility open to God, given his character and goals, was to destroy us along with evil, or to destroy evil for us by suffering–and to require us to suffer with him?” and left me with an understanding of issues current in public debates such as the importance of positions on free-will based on the traditions of Irenaeus or on Aquinas.Finally I would recommend Simon Oliver’s assessment of the book in the forward. The book “presents us with a meditation which is philosophically acute, intellectually rigorous and historically informed .... One may be very persuaded .... or .... one may conclude the author has .... taken some wrong turns. Either way, it is most definitely worth walking with Rick Shenk, listening carefully, quietly and patiently to what he has to say.”