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Writer's pictureGODVERSITY

A Christian In COVIDTimes




The question that never goes away for Christians is “Why does God allow evil and suffering?” The latest version of this question is “Where is God in a coronavirus world?”


This question in its various forms is asked in different ways by different people. Some ask with a philosopher’s edge, as if calamities like the coronavirus are “defeaters” of Christianity, proving that the idea of a loving God watching out for us is obviously not believable. For others, the question is asked through tears, by those deeply wounded by personal experiences of loss, abandonment, or hurt.


Almost as soon as this question became relevant again—in the face of the coronavirus pandemic—Dr. John Lennox turned around a book with answers. If you know anything about the publishing world, the speed of this is stunning. And, if you know anything about Dr. Lennox, it’s probably not because of his work in group theory as “the building block of abstract algebra.” Lennox is an Oxford mathematician and also a Christian apologist who has debated the top atheists and religious skeptics of our time, including Richard Dawkins, Peter Singer, and the late Christopher Hitchens.


In these debates, he’s faced the skeptic’s claims about how the existence of evil and the existence of God are incompatible. His outstanding little book, published in what must be record time, is called “Where is God in a Coronavirus World?” In it, Lennox gives answers to the skeptic’s arguments, but that’s not really what this book is finally about.


Lennox wrote this book in order to “convey some comfort, support and hope,” to people who feel disoriented, concerned, even fearful because of the coronavirus pandemic and all of its consequences and disruption in our lives.


We are living through a unique, era-defining period. Many of our old certainties have gone, whatever our view of the world and whatever our beliefs. The coronavirus pandemic and its effects are perplexing and unsettling for all of us. How do we begin to think it through and cope with it?


In this short yet profound book, Oxford mathematics professor John Lennox examines the coronavirus in light of various belief systems and shows how the Christian worldview not only helps us to make sense of it, but also offers us a sure and certain hope to cling to.


Here's why John Lennox wrote the book:

"This book consists of my reflections on what we are experiencing right now. I started writing it a week ago, and things have changed quickly since then and no doubt will do again...I would invite you, the reader, to view the book like this: we are sitting in a coffee shop (if only we could!) and you have asked me the question on the book cover. I put down my coffee cup and attempt to give you an honest answer. What follows is what I would try to say in order to convey some comfort, support and hope."

 

For those who do not know John Lennox; he is an Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford and Emeritus Fellow in Mathematics and the Philosophy of Science at Green Templeton College. He is also an Associate Fellow of the Said Business School and an Adjunct Lecturer for The Oxford Center for Christian Apologetics. He has been part of numerous public debates defending the Christian faith against well known atheists including Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Peter Singer. Read the book: https://www.amazon.com/Where-Coronavirus-World-John-Lennox/dp/1784985694/ref=nodl_



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