Taking an intentionally light-hearted approach to a heavy topic this book presents an illustrative introduction to the problem of suffering and the most commonly offered responses to it. Along the road, you ll face multiple possibilities regarding suffering and its theological explanations, and you ll make choices about which one you find most plausible, skipping to that section of the book. Each decision you make leads to further complexities and new choices that reveal how theological beliefs lead to certain conclusions.

This book does not offer final answers. Instead, it introduces the theological possibilities—both Christian and non-Christian—that you can explore and wrestle with to make informed decisions about your beliefs and clearly see the road you ve taken to reach such beliefs.

You are, of course, in control of the paths you take through these pages. You decide which explanations work. You can always go back and see what would change if you d taken a different path. And, who knows. . .you may find that certain pathways resonate with your experiences in ways you didn t expect.