An okay book but no memorable takeaways that made me want to read more or dive deeper. Have read other material on this subject that impacted me more.

Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC!

Present Evil, Active God tackles a very difficult topic that men have grappled with forever: how do we reconcile an all-powerful God with the profound and intense amount of evil we see in the world? With some very specific examples and clear and concise language, the author makes his case. I truly enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone who is struggling with this question, or even just seeking for a deeper understanding of life.

The issue of evil is a huge topic, but particularly so when it comes to religion and God. In Present God, Active Evil, Jered Gritters takes on the challenge of exploring the subject of evil; its roots, its effects, human attempts to solve it, its purpose, and most importantly, the role of God in all of this. With a runtime of just 7 hours and 11 minutes – or 222 pages in the paperback – the author packs in a lot of information into each section.

Why does God allow evil?
Can we truly believe God is active and good amidst such rampant evil? Are there satisfying answers as to why our creator has allowed so much evil to flourish?

It’s a question (or a set of questions) that is (or are), and will continue to be, a major source of debate and argument.

Did God create evil?
Is He ignoring suffering?
Is He inflicting it?
What is the point of evil?
Is evil inevitable?
Is there a solution?

I would love to say that having read this book, I have the answers to all of these questions… but I don’t.

Nevertheless, Gritters presents some interesting and insightful arguments. He lays out an excellent deep dive into topics such as communism, fascism, Russia, and China, along with a thorough analysis of Genesis, creation, and the fall of Adam and Eve. His detailed exploration of the sermon on the mount and substitutionary atonement gave me much food for thought.

It was a difficult book to follow, particularly in the first 15% or so. Gritters opted to jump in with some heavy theological concepts that were wildly beyond my current understanding. I found it impossible to keep up and I quickly felt dejected and confused. I think this was exacerbated by the fact I was listening to the audiobook version, so it wasn’t practical to keep skipping back to re-listen. If I’d had the paperback, I probably would have found it easier to follow. However, I’m still not sure I would have fully understood, as I felt the content was academically and spiritually complex, and I didn’t have the background knowledge as a foundation.

Once I reached around the 20% mark, I found the book slowed down to a more manageable pace and the language became easier to understand. This is where the author looks at Genesis and the fall of Adam and Eve, followed by an in-depth look at communism in Russia and China. Gritters discusses many historical figures, including Lenin, Mao, Hitler, Tolstoy, Gandhi, and MLK Jr. I could follow this quite clearly. I think this was because there was a clear train of thought that didn’t dip jump around too much. The logic was easier to follow as the theme was more condensed and focused for each section. The author uses these subjects to illustrate human folly in the attempted eradication of evil, along with tyranny and forced compliance.

Whilst I found this section fascinating (albeit horrific and heart-breaking), I did feel that Gritters lingered too long on the point, going to great lengths to explain the full history of each situation. It’s thorough, but I think he could have reduced some of the extraneous details, as I started to feel like he was repeating himself after a while.

On the contrary, I found the ending of the book quite rushed. The author returns to scripture and biblical references, but I didn’t find the conclusion “satisfying”. I didn’t expect to walk away with a complete and total understanding of the issue of evil, but if you asked me to sum up the conclusion in a few words, I really don’t think I could.

The flow of the book seemed to lead up to at least the posing of the strongest theological theory, but for me, it fizzled out. Having started with such sharp focus on specific theological standpoints, I was surprised by the vagueness of the conclusion. Maybe this speaks to my lack of understanding about complex theology, but I can only offer my experience of reading the book.

Present Evil, Active God is an interesting and insightful book. However, I can’t say that I am notably more theologically educated as a result of reading it. There were snippets that I think made excellent points, but I think there was too much focus on complex theological terminology at the beginning, and too little emphasis on concluding the points made in a satisfactory way. I think I would have gained more from this book further down the line when my knowledge of theology is more advanced than it is now.

In my opinion, I would recommend the paperback version more than the audiobook, as I think this format would be better suited to the heavy and complex thought-processes we are asked to follow. I rated this book 3 stars on Goodreads.

(Full review on thepatchworkfox.com)

I feel totally inadequate in reviewing this book as some of the discussions are quite above me. So here are just some points that occurred to me as I listened to this audiobook. There are some concepts that are not familiar to me such as Jesus' 3rd wave. Big portions cover in some detail the evils done by infamous historical world figures that are simply horrifying. Some parts that could have been incorporated in the main book are inserted as appendices.

The narrator did a professional job and has a voice that is pleasant to listen to and totally suitable for the topic covered.

I thought this was a very interesting answer to the question "why does God allow evil in the world." However, I didn't find it ultimately satisfactory. However, I don't blame the author for that. I think that's just one of those questions that doesn't have a satisfactory answer.

Still, I guess I was really hoping that I WOULD get an answer here. Ha. I know - illogical, right? Knowing there's no answer to a question but hoping for one anyway?

Even so, I thought the examples the author cited were great. I love how he brought in MLK Jr. and Gandhi and related them to Jesus' teachings of non-violence and ultimate love. The contrast he made against the not-so-loving leaders like Stalin and General Mao were stark. And when placed side by side like that, it gave me a lot to think about.

Ultimately, I'm very glad that I read the book (or listened to it, as it were). It was certainly a worthwhile read. As for the audiobook format, it was great. The narrator was excellent. Never once did I feel like it was dragging, and neither did I have to go back and replay something because I didn't get it the first time through.

Additionally, I was thoroughly engaged from beginning to end. Not a single complaint with the audiobook.

This was a great book.

I found the theology and history detailed in this book was outstanding.

Gritters does an amazing job at detailing major human rights atrocities from the past. From Mao Zedong, to Hitler, Stalin, etc, and offsets it with some major key human rights moments such as Gandhi, Leo Tolstoy, and other prominent figures.

I have honestly, not read about certain atrocities until this book. I found it extremely eye opening.

Gritters really brings a lot of tangeable and bite-sized descriptions of history, and I learned so much.

For someone who doesn't love history too much, I found this a fascinating read - very accessible.

Now, on the side of the active God - Jered tackles the theology of God's will in an excellent way.

I felt that I really got a lot out of this book.

I would highly recommend reading this book - especially if you are finding trouble in some of the news around the world lately.

4.4/5