By its own admission, there is almost no need to classify
this book. Is it about God’s presence in
this world? Yup. Is it about the beauty and pain in this
world? Yup. Does it contain a letter by Hamlet, Prince of
Denmark? Yes. Does
it have a lot to say about ants and snowflakes?
It most certainly does. This is,
after all, a book about someone who believes he is on a tilt-a-whirl. A perfect, spinning orb of a tilt-a-whirl.
N.D. Wilson’s book was, for me, a deep breath of fresh
air. I spend a lot of time with what
some call ‘serious’ books on philosophy, theology, history and so forth and I
was drawn to the sense I got that this book doesn’t take itself seriously, but
simultaneously takes its subject matter seriously. It delivered.
While the chapters will often take their own routs around the subject
matter, they all lead you to the end of the book. Wilson isn’t random in his “Notes,” but
surprising, often humorous, and sometimes quite moving.
If I had to put the thesis of the book in a sentence it
might be, “a hearty slap in the face to the problem of evil.” Wilson knows his philosophers and
theologians. He does not neglect the
age-old arguments and points of views on ‘either side’, but he does not take
the strict philosophical tact to deal with this problem. He is interested in the story the world is
telling, the roles we all play (and by “we all,” I mean to include earwigs,
mayflies, naked mole rats, and fat rabbits), and what God is up to in all of
it. He asks, “How could an all-good,
all-powerful God allow evil in the world? Or, from a slightly different angle:
how could an all-good, all-powerful God allow David Hume in the world?” (pg.
78)
Through his perspective on daily life and God in it, I found a deeply thoughtful reflection on what I would call relationship with God. His book inspired and encouraged me to take in more of the things around me from a different, God-saturated, point of view. When I got to the chapter on hell, the pastor and theologian within me was worried. It was wonderful.
I think this is a great book for encouraging a meaningful
and daily trust in the God who really is there, and happens to be here as well.
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