In this interview, Mel Lawrenz talks with Philip Yancey about his recent book What Good is God?: In Search of a Faith that Matters, in which he recalls interesting and difficult circumstances in which he has found himself.
In the book, he includes not only an overview of these situations, but also outlines of the speeches or sermons he has delivered in the midst of them, reiterating that in the midst of tragedy, disaster or scandals, people need to gather and find encouragement.
We all face our own tests of faith, says Yancey, and it’s in these circumstances, and in those of widespread tragedy and difficulty, that we most deeply cling to the truth of God. The title is in response to “new atheists” who consistently raise the question “what good is God?”…the answer, he says, is that the Gospel ultimately transforms hearts and cultures for the better. People don’t go to church because they have their lives together…they go because they need the truth of God and a community of believers to help them get their lives together.
Philip Yancey is editor-at-large for Christianity Today and has written twelve Gold Medallion Award-winning books. Yancey currently lives with his wife in Colorado.