When I find an author whose writing I enjoy or find thought-provoking, I like to collect all their books and re-read them every so often. I have appreciated the books by Philip Yancey since I first discovered him over 25 years ago, and try to re-read them about once every ten years. It was thirteen years since I last read ‘Disappointment with God’, so clearly time for e re-read.
The writing, as always with this author, is excellent - the book is well-structured, with the author’s thoughts alongside quotations from Scripture and from some other writers. He particularly favours CS Lewis in this book; Lewis wrote about his immense disappointment with God when his wife died, and clearly Philip Yancey found his thoughts inspiring and helpful.
But what makes his writing particularly interesting is that he gives some anecdotes from his own life too, and writes about encounters with people he met. One of them was a young friend who had given up on his faith. Yancey could understand exactly where his friend was coming from - he experienced crises of faith himself - and it was the three questions asked by the friend which inspired this book.
The friend asks: Is God unfair? Is God silent? Is God hidden? A little ironically, the friend lost his faith after writing an academic book on the subject of the Biblical book Job. Job is one of the earliest books in the Bible, and if the account is true rather than a parable or allegory (as some experts believe) he suffered loss, pain, bereavement and intense disappointment despite being one of the few people who lived in upright life and worshipped God wholeheartedly.
Yancey looks at these three questions in some depth, not answering them in a trite or quick way, but exploring their implications. Is God unfair? A cursory scan of the book of Job would suggest that he is. But while God allowed the immense suffering, he didn’t cause it; one could equally say that life is unfair. How far does God intervene in everyday life? Clearly not as much as many folk would wish, and not at all in Job’s life until the end of the book when there’s a lengthy exposition which puts everything into context.
As for whether God is hidden or silent, Philip Yancey spends some time recounting parts of the Old Testament where God clearly wasn’t either silent or hidden. From the Garden of Eden through to the Exodus from Egypt, God was a known presence, and people heard his voice, or saw direct evidence of God’s movement or directions. But it didn’t make them happy, nor did it make them more likely to follow him. It certainly didn’t stop them complaining or becoming disappointed. Perhaps human nature always wants something different from the status quo.
While I had not remembered the details of the book, or the specific questions asked, it felt familiar and encouraging. I didn’t learn anything new, but had some useful reminders. I thought overall it was a positive and helpful read, one which I would recommend to anyone asking the kinds of questions the author’s young friend asked, or wondering why God does not show himself more clearly and more often. I particularly like the way that the author explores and expands on the questions, looking at their implications, rather than coming up with pat answers.
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