Overview

As the recent tsunami disaster reveals, there is widespread discussion and disagreement about God's will and suffering - especially about what is traditionally called natural evil. In most Christian teaching, God is transcendent, above the suffering, beholding it. God may sympathize, help, empower, and save, but God isn't trapped in the midst of it like the rest of us. For people with a belief in God, the onset of suffering often throws one into an acute sense of a chasm between the divine and the human. According to Robert Morris, a pastor, spiritual director, and a chronic sufferer from depression, the biblical picture of God is radically different from this view. God's desire is to include us as participants in the divine life - to make us partakers of the divine nature in all that that entails. At the heart of this invitation to participate in God's own life is God's gracious participation in our suffering. This innovative approach to reconciling human suffering and the nature of God focuses on how to look beyond easy answers, toward God's own suffering, moving from the position of victim to victor. Morris' own experience of chronic depression is a thread throughout the book, describing how one can move from meaningless suffering to suffering in a redemptive, healing way.

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9781557254283

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Reviews

In this brief, satisfyingly pastoral volume, Morris, an Episcopal priest, reflects homiletically on suffering and the nature of both God and humanity. Morris cites his own struggle with mental illness and the devastating stories of people to whom he has ministered to show that while God rarely makes all the pain disappear, God does bless sufferers in powerful and surprising ways. Publishers Weekly June 21, 2005

In a culture that believes pain is bad and should always be avoided, we need this dramatically countercultural approach. Reflecting on his own deep pain, Morris sees in the crucified Christ a courageous God who overpowers the enemy of despair by loving even at the moment of apparent defeat -- a God who is a resource rather than a rescuer. Ward B.Ewing, Dean & President of The General Theological Seminary June 21, 2005 In this brief, satisfyingly pastoral volume, Morris, an Episcopal priest, reflects homiletically on suffering and the nature of both God and humanity. Morris cites his own struggle with mental illness and the devastating stories of people to whom he has ministered to show that while God rarely makes all the pain disappear, God does bless sufferers in powerful and surprising ways. Publishers Weekly June 21, 2005 Steeped in spiritual wisdom and seasoned with personal experience, this fine book offers real nourishment to all who hunger for life liberated from the prison cell of suffering. With keen insight and well-tested practices, Robert Morris shows us how to fashion a new framework of meaning that sets us and the afflictions we endure securely within the victorious courage of God. John Mogabgab, editor of Weavings June 21, 2005 An Episcopal priest in New Jersey and founder of the ecumenical spirituality center Interweave, Morris (Wrestling with Grace) attempts to address the question of human suffering and God's role in it, perceiving God not as a distant witness of human suffering but as one who has shared and continues to share actively in it. As the concluding poem to Jesus put it, 'When You rose, hallowed, harrowed One, / it was not without your scars.' Highly recommended. Graham Christian Library Journal July 21, 2005

Author Information

An Episcopal priest, spiritual director, and retreat leader for over thirty years, Robert Corin Morris is a regular contributor to Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life, and the founder of Interweave, an ecumenical, interfaith community learning center for spirituality and wellness. As the director of Interweave, he leads courses, workshops, and retreats extensively in New Jersey and throughout the country. He has been active in Jewish- Christian and Buddhist-Christian dialog. Rev. Morris lives in South Orange, New Jersey, with his wife, Suzanne.

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