#Diogenes allen free

On the other hand, the book’s organizational structure is not traditional. This general approach is found throughout the book. the Gospels do not tell us why God chose this particular way or means to save us, nor how it saves us.” Allen’s point is not that any particular atonement theory is necessarily correct, but that part of any deep theology is exploring any given topic with a synthesis of Scripture, tradition and reason, as has been done from the earliest days of the Church.

#Diogenes allen free

To further take that example, Allen emphasizes Athanasius’s point, that while the Incarnation was “a free action of God. Athanasius offered as the springboard for a discussion of why the Incarnation occurred, rather Allen’s own fresh interpretations of Scripture. Here, instead, you will find the detailed thought of St. This is not popular writing encouraging Christians to let the good times roll, of which Joseph Prince’s execrable Destined To Reign is one of a multitude, the only one I have had the misfortune to read. Probably this is why this book is often used as a ministry textbook (I am not studying for the ministry it was given to me as a gift by a friend of mine in our Bible study group). That said, all the theology Allen covers is unexceptional for any mainstream Christian-but very refined and treated with a depth that most people would not normally encounter. Certain aspects of episcopal Christianity therefore appear often in the book, in particular a willingness to synthesize Biblical exegesis, tradition and reason in a way that might not be found in a more strictly evangelical theologian. Rather, with the Orthodox theologian David Bentley Hart, I think that “God will not unite all of history’s many strands in one great synthesis, but will judge much of history false and damnable that he will not simply reveal the sublime logic of fallen nature but will strike off the fetters in which creation languishes and that, rather than showing us how the tears of a small girl suffering in the dark were necessary for the building of the Kingdom, he will instead raise her up and wipe away all tears from her eyes-and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor any more pain, for the former things will have passed away and he that sits upon the throne will say, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ ” If, or more likely when, I am forced to suffer, and if my reaction is not humility, it is more likely to be anger at God than disbelief in God, though I hope it is neither.Īllen was a Presbyterian, but he mentions in this book that he is part of the Anglican tradition, and apparently he was a regular preacher at both Presbyterian and Anglican churches.

Nor do I think that suffering is part of God’s plan, that He will later show us why it was necessary for the fulfilment of His purposes.

The nature of a fallen world with free will necessarily implies suffering. But God does not guarantee us happiness in this life-quite the contrary. To be fair, that may be because I have suffered very little in my life (as they say, though, past performance is no guarantee of future results). Very many people struggle with theodicy-in essence, the theological question why God, if He is both all-good and all-powerful, permits suffering. Either way, the book is substantively excellent, if not an easy read. Thus, it might be more accurate if the book’s subtitle, “An Introduction to the Christian Faith,” were the title, and the actual title the subtitle. The book itself, however, is a sophisticated philosophical overview of Christianity in which troubles, as such, play little part. The author, the late Diogenes Allen, did not intend to convert in this work, rather he “intended to increase a critical but pious person’s understanding of the Christian religion.” True, the spur for his writing the book was receiving a letter from a man troubled by the particular problem of theodicy. That’s not precisely true this is not a work of apologetics. From its title, Theology for a Troubled Believer seems directed at people having a crisis of faith.