John Stott’s quote on suffering from the Cross of Christ is profound:

“I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross…In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it?”

It is a great comfort to know that whilst this world there is a great deal of suffering, God doesn’t only know it (in the sense that one knows that there is a concept called ‘suffering’) but has Himself experienced it – for our sake.

Our world is in a lot of pain. Where is God in this pain? What is God’s role in this pain? The current Jesus: All About Life campaign is prompting some of these questions to be asked (for example, see this post and the comments on this post) – a welcome opportunity to discuss faith, God and issues of eternal significance.

I’ve compiled a list some resources that might be helpful to read and point people to. I haven’t read/listened to each of them, but they come from trusted sources that I pray will be helpful. Apart from two books, all of these resources are available for free. Some of these are written apologetically (i.e. to answer the questions of people who aren’t Christians), whilst others seek to explore in depth the theology of suffering (to provide a stronger Biblical understand for people who are Christians).

• William Lane Craig – ‘How can a good God allow suffering and evil?‘ (MP3 and written outline)
• Bruce Little – ‘God, evil and suffering‘ (series of MP3s)
• Bruce Little – ‘Evil and the God who knows‘ (MP3 and notes)
• John Piper – ‘Christ and Cancer‘ (available as MP3 and article)
• John Piper – ‘Where is God? The supremacy of Christ in an age of terror‘ (available as MP3 and article)
• John Piper – ‘Don’t waste your cancer‘ (article)
• John Piper – ‘Suffering and the sovereignty of God‘ (free book to download)
• Josh McDowell – ‘Why does God allow evil to exist?‘ (article)
• Andy Alcorn – ‘Why does God allow evil and suffering?‘ (article)
• John Piper – ‘Does suffering always make sense?’ (article)
• John Piper ‘Ten aspects of God’s sovereignty over suffering and Satan’s hand in it‘ (available as MP3 and article)
• Alistair Begg – ‘All the lonely people‘ (MP3)
• Juan Sanchez – ‘Suffering, sin and the unchanging God‘ (available as MP3, article and video)
• Don Carson – ‘Making sense of suffering (part 1)‘ (MP3)
• Andrew Peterson – ‘Apologetics: The Problem of Pain‘ (MP3)
• Tim Keller – ‘God in the shipwreck‘ (MP3)
• Lee Strobel – ‘Why God allows pain and suffering‘ (video – starts well, but incomplete)
• John Dickson – ‘If I were God I’d end all the pain‘ (book)
• Nicky Gumbel – ‘Why does God allow suffering?‘ (book)

Have you come across other resources that might be helpful?