Here Are Six Great Reasons To
Buy the Book! What others say about: Light On the Dark Side of God “Here is the finest presentation of both sides of the ‘does God kill?’ issue, surveying all of the Biblical evidence in an impartial and competent manner… There is no attempt to circumvent plain Scripture evidence, yet the apparent contradictions are handled in the most thorough and reasonable way that I have as yet seen in print. [The author's] work is thought-provoking; she is a responsible and informed theologian; and she writes with an interesting flair. Nothing boring here, nor is the reader wearied by repetition. I would urge anyone interested in the command to ‘fear God and give glory to Him’ to get this book without delay.” Robert J. Wieland Writer/Theologian Excerpt 2, Comparisons Between Scriptural Contradictions ____________________________________________________ Following are just a few of the perplexing apparent contra-dictions, which have puzzled students of Scripture for years. Studying them provides insight into the way God sometimes expresses Himself and reveals a principle we may use in understanding God's alleged dark side. Who sends a lying spirit? One Perspective Another Perspective The Lord said, "Who will persuade It is impossible for God to Ahab to go up that he may fall at lie . . . . God . . . cannot lie forward and stood before the Lord (Hebrews 6:18;Titus 1:2). and said . . . . "I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all the prophets" ( 1 Kings 22:20, 22). We have no Scriptural clarification on this point. Next question . . . Who led King David to number Israel? One Perspective Another Perspective The anger of the Lord was aroused Now Satan stood up against against Israel and He moved Israel and moved David to David . . . to . . . number Israel number Israel (1 Chron. 21:1). and Judah (2 Sam. 24:2). Again, we have no clarifying comment. We only know from Scripture that God punished David for this action (1 Chronicles 21:14, strongly suggesting that, as humans would express it, He had nothing to do with David's decision to initiate a census in Israel. But if God did not move David to "number Israel," why does He say He did? p. 30-1 “You have the unique ability to write about theological issues clearly, simply, and in a way that makes it sound interesting. Your theological writing does not plod — a feat that few writers are able to achieve… You have good ideas and you write with a very clear style… You have the unusual ability to put complex abstract ideas into simple language that the average person can understand, and I can’t tell you how hard we look for people who can do that.” Marvin Moore, Editor Pacific Press Publishing Assn. |
Excerpt 1, Compares Christ's Death To the Death of the Firstborn in Egypt
______________________________________________ The next chapter looks at what limits the destroyer to the firstborn. Notice that this perspective agrees with the way in which God dealt with sin in the case of Christ the Sin Bearer.
What was the Father's role in the death of Jesus? One Perspective Another Perspective I [God] will strike the Shepherd. . . . My God, My God, why We esteemed Him stricken, smitten have You forsaken Me? by God (Mark 14:27; Isaiah 53:4). (Mark 15:34). In each case God backs off, releasing entrenched sin into the power of the destroyer. In each case He sees and describes Himself as "striking" or doing what He only allows. The book of Psalms has a final word to say regarding this terrible experience, faintly underscoring our new model of the episode and calling into question our traditional picture of God's participation in it: He cast on them the fierceness of His anger, Wrath, indignation, and trouble, By sending angels of destruction among them. He made a path for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death, But gave their life over to the plague, And destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt. (Psalm 78:46, 48-50, 60, 62) As Christ was delivered up, so Egypt was given over to destruction. The evidence mounts that God destroys in a way very different from the way in which Satan or humans destroy. It suggests He withdraws--simply and reluctantly--leaving off His protecting duties in compliance with human free will. P. 43 Subj: "This Book Needs More Readers" Here is a book which should have more readers. The author, M. M. Campbell, writes a book which shows that we can best understand the violent portrayals of God in the Old Testament and the concept of hell by looking at the love of Jesus on the cross. Her basic argument is that God does not cause evil, but allows it by withdrawing Himself, and thereby allowing evil to run its course. And yet because God created a world where such evil is possible, He takes the blame for evil by describing Himself in Scripture as doing what He does not prevent. Truly, this is an insightful idea. I only wish that the author had spelled this idea out in more detail and had explained more of the tough texts of Scripture in light of her position. Jeremy Myers "Redeeming God" Website 5.0 out of 5 stars You Need This Book
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