Ocean of Love or Sea of Troubles?: Can We Find God in a Suffering World?

The title of Dr. Harris book suggests that life is like a two-sided coin: it can be an Ocean of Love but can also be a Sea of Troubles. The subtitle clarifies this paradox: first there are many signs of Gods reality and activity in the world and the first section of the book examines ways in which people are aware of God as both a creative and immanent presence in life. The signs of God are not philosophical proofs but empirical realities accessible to all people. In the second section the biblical responses to suffering in the world are explored--through both Old and New Testaments. In the third section the writings of two modern apologists C. S. Lewis and Philip Yancey are assessed and then finally there is a chapter of interviews with people who have known suffering in their lives. Harris brings a commanding academic mind and a wealth of ministerial experience to the question Where is God in suffering? The answers he finds in the nature of creation scripture and human stories are informative and compelling. This book is unflinching and scholarly yet gentle and uplifting. It will both enlighten and bless all who read it. --Sally Myers Principal of the Lincoln School of Theology Geoff Harris has given us a book that challenges and uplifts at the same time. His wide reading and accessible style bring together biblical scholarship pastoral compassion and an understanding of modern culture that offer us insightful and credible ways of addressing the problem of suffering. --Francis Bridger Dean of Brechin in the Scottish Episcopal Church; author of Twenty-Three Days: A Story of Love Death and God Robert Geoffrey Harris is a Methodist minister who has served the church in several places including Cameroon in West Africa. He worked for the East Midlands Ministry Training Course at University of Nottingham as Director of Studies and then for Lincoln School of Theology at University of Lincoln as Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies. He has had two previous full-length books published: Mission in the Gospels (2004) and The SCM Core Text: Paul (2009).