Divine Dilemma

I feel bad leaving a negative review of anything made by this wonderful organization. But as someone who has experienced a lot of suffering and grief, I feel it's important to share my opinion so others like me can make an educated purchase.

Have you ever heard a sermon in which, at the beginning, the pastor brings up a problem or anecdote that pulls you right in, as if he's speaking right to you? You perk up and listen attentively - waiting for the solution to your deepest needs. But it was just a hook, and the solution is never really presented. You leave feeling discouraged. That's what this book was for me.

Ken (whose work I generally greatly respect and appreciate) did a great job at making me cry almost continuously through the first half of the book, causing additional unneeded sorrow as I wept for him and his family, and the world. But there was (in my opinion) virtually no encouragement. The "answers" can be summarized in three sentences; no need to buy the book: 1) Suffering exists because of the Fall. 2) It's our fault, not God's. 3) Don't bother asking why suffering exists. Instead, think about the fact that you will die, and make sure you're saved. 4) God can do what He wants; we have no right to question Him.

Talk about a downer! Since finishing this book last week, I have been seriously depressed. I have also been having major issues in my relationship with God, wondering if He actually cares about our day to day lives and trivial things.

Oh, and I should add that there is one theological issue in which I disagree with Ken. He says that God causes bad things to happen, so that He can bring good out of it. The only Scripture reference was Romans 8:28, which doesn't say that. As part of my grieving process, I have come to firmly believe that God does not cause the bad things to happen, however He DOES often use them for good. I am strong enough in this belief that the book didn't affect me in this area; but I could see it being devastating to someone who is not.

I have a dear friend who went through a lot of suffering. She recently ended up writing an excellent Christian fiction book series, and it was greatly inspired by her suffering. If you know her, you can feel it in the pages. It was therapeutic for her to write about characters who also suffered, and how they handled it.

That's kind of how this book struck me. Maybe writing it helped Ken grieve the devastating loss of his brother. My heart certainly goes out to him and I'm glad for his sake that he has had this opportunity to tell the world about Rob. But while this book may have been therapeutic to write, as a reader I found it entirely unhelpful and extremely depressing.

This book has 29 chapters. It helped me to see why bad things happen to good people. It was a real eye opener for me. It helped me understand why people need to grieve. Why people suffer. and what we can do to ease that or help people with it. I loved this book and will recommend it to many other people that I think it will help, like it helped me.

Update to Ken Ham's book 'How Could a Loving God?'
Who wants to think of dying? None of us. We want to avoid it. The truth is we will die one day. All of the people that we know will die one day. This book helps you to understand how to deal with it. How to understand why we will die? How to deal with the loss of loved ones? How to know where we are going when we die?

Ken Ham relates a true account of life, suffering, and death to God's worldview.

In an evolutionary world, humans are no more valuable than any other form of life. So why do people who believe in evolution say that something is just or unjust if there is no absolute authority?

He shows that the secular humanist worldview has no answer for the problems of suffering and death. That view is based on the wrong foundation of man's word.

Christians need to look to Genesis 1-11 to learn about death, suffering, and disease. That should be their foundation.

The Apostle Paul saw sickness and illness as normal living in a world that has been ruined by sin.

Every second of every day we live in a fallen world, and we can expect pain, suffering, and hardships.

Sooner or later, the bodies we live in will die and perish.

When we can't see goodness we must bend a knee and trust His goodness in the midst of evil will be revealed.

God's word has a plan for us beyond the grave as well.

Jesus wept at death, we weep at death.

I think the question of why God allows bad things happen to “good” people is a question that most everybody struggles with. In this book, Ken Ham lovingly addresses the topics of grief and suffering through personal experience, and more importantly, with a biblical worldview.

I have read many of Ken Ham’s books and walk away each time with a better understanding of the topics that he covered. This book is the exact same. Ken uses the gift of words that God has given him to speak of grief and suffering using Genesis chapters 1-11 to guide his way. I really appreciated his discussion of beauty and how every person has a different perspective of it.

In all that he says, Ken always brings it back to God’s Word and what you are building your worldview on. With everything, we need to see the big picture, and Ken helps to show the importance of it and helps to guide you in that direction. This book will leave you clinging to God’s truth and the importance of your reliance on Him.

When I first saw the title and brief description of this book, I was surprised. It's not something I am used to seeing Ken Ham write about. I think Ken did well with explaining why there is disease, suffering, and death. I appreciated and could relate to Ken sharing about his brother and even his mother. It's important to understand Biblically why we suffer and Ken did well in this endeavor. I also think Ken could have done better by what he shared about Darwin, Evolution, the Creation Museum, and the Ark Encounter. Although Ken didn't share anything that wasn't true, I felt that a topic such as this, I felt in the midst of explaining it, Ken was throwing a sales pitch for the AiG ministry. I also felt Ken in some ways was going against what he as written about in other books/articles and that is the "Just trust in Jesus" statement. Yes of course we need to trust in Jesus and Ken knows that. Ken also knows by saying that doesn't automatically "fix" things. Ken did share from his heart I believe but I also think he tried to make things too simple. Suffering and pain is complicated sometimes. I think the book would have been better to address more of that with some more emotion. I didn't detect real emotion from Ken Ham in trying to relay the information at hand. I felt the book was more fact-based than trying to truly relate to people who are really struggling. Instead of making sales pitches about AiG ministry, perhaps sharing more about difficulties people have and how to deal with them more. Ridiculing those who believe in evolution and millions of years doesn't really help those that are dealing with grief, depression, and anxiety. There was no sense of coming along-side someone who is truly having a "Divine Dilemma" in their faith when it comes to suffering and death. Having mentored and ministered to people in the category, I can't think of a time when I would have ridiculed others (evolution/millions of year) while trying to help them cope. I just think this could have been better. As I said, I was surprised to see Ken Ham writing about this and now I know why.

I appreciate Ken Ham's raw and bold message and testimony about overcoming the struggle and pain of losing his brother. I absolutely love the evidence he presents for the consequences of sin, the proof of creationism and the need for salvation. I absolutely agree that we cannot ignore Genesis 1-11 which is essential to understanding the foundation of Christianity, our sin and the need for the Savior.

I agree that we cannot blame God for our sin and the consequences of it, but I cannot agree that an illness should be normal in the Christian walk since there are plenty of examples in the Bible especially in the New Testament where Jesus and the disciples healed people if only they believed. For example, The Great Commission in Mark 16:15, 17a, and 18c declares, "15. And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons... 18c... they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

I loved the book, and I think it is a great testimony in the way it puts in perspective how to perceive God during trials and hardships, but we cannot ignore God's healing power and authority that He gave to us. It is like we are robbing people off the great gift God gave us through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.

I just want to lovingly share my thoughts. :) I think it is time for Christians to stop excluding the Holy Spirit and His power in us.

I have struggled with so many health issues and anxiety for over a decade now. I have read many books on the topic of suffering but this one hits it out of the park. Divine Dilemma by Ken Ham goes into detail about his brother's struggle with his own suffering.
Ken Ham gets down to the real reasons why God allows us to struggle with health issues, tragedies, and other hard things we go through in life. He also writes about what we should do in these times and how God can use these situations. Everything relates back to the Bible and what God has to say about this subject.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is struggling or knows someone who is struggling in this world. It has given me clarity and inspiration to keep going and relying on God and His perfect plan for my life.

I read Ken Ham’s book titled How Could A Loving God? a few years ago while in the midst of a cancer battle, and was strengthened in my faith as he explained suffering from a biblical worldview. This newly updated and expanded edition of that book is exceptional. Ken Ham reveals the raw pain and emotions of his heart while sharing the heart-wrenching story of his brother’s illness and subsequent death. I was moved to tears while reading of the personal struggles he and his family faced while seeking answers to the age-old question, “Why?” The means God used to strengthen their faith and give answers to their aching hearts and minds is truly God-ordained.

As with all of Ken Ham’s books, he does an excellent job of laying the groundwork for a biblical worldview beginning with Genesis. Suffering and death are explained by the Fall and the entrance of sin and death into the world through Adam’s disobedience. But abundant life and the hope of a perfect world without sin and death come through the obedience of the Second Adam, Jesus Christ, who promises to one day restore all things.

This book is rich with biblical truths supported by Scripture. It also shares the wisdom of a man deeply in love with God and committed to His Word as Ken Ham quotes his brother, Pastor Robert Ham, who like Abel, “though he is dead, he still speaks” (Heb. 11:4) Beautiful color illustrations and photos throughout, along with personal stories of Ken Ham’s family and their legacy, draw you in and keep the book moving along. Read it and be encouraged to trust that God is indeed working all things for good; that even when we can’t understand “why,” we must bow the knee before our Sovereign Lord, knowing that He alone is God and worthy of our praise and trust.

Every so often I think all of us has a “fleshy” moment where the effects of sin truly hit home and we can struggle with the question of suffering. I became a christian as an adult and having 4 young kids, I really appreciated the review, outlook and encouragement from this book. Ken Ham’s book always have a great conversational tone, which make them a really easy read, but they are also full of great insight that make you want to pull out the highlighter, no matter where you are on you fellowship journey with Jesus. Ken does not just touch on the subject of those suffering in other countries, or even on our streets, but he gives such an amazing testimony of loosing someone so close; who was also so close to God. He works through how he is able put all of this suffering into perspective of a fallen world, and so simplistically that I would be happy to share with my family and children. I plan to buy a few to have on hand for friends suffering with grief.

This is a book that every Christian should read. Ken Ham did an excellent job of biblically addressing the difficult topics of sickness, suffering, and death. Through the experience in his own life and family, he shares how he was able to gain an understanding of the painful and difficult to understand things that happen in our fallen world.

Throughout the book, his writing was candid, comforting, and always scripturally sound. While there are some hard truths here, I very much appreciated the way that he handled the difficult topics to help us grow in our faith instead of trying to gloss over pain and suffering in the life of a Christian. I especially found it inspiring how the author was comforted by the sermons on suffering preached by his brother before his death. Seeing how God worked in that situation was so encouraging.

I will say that I would hesitate to give this book to someone right in the throes of sorrow and suffering. Ideally, I think this is a book that we should all read before suffering happens to help prepare us. Or, it would be helpful once we are through the suffering to help gain understanding.