Summary of Chapter 16
The 16th 'lie' Young wants to correct is that 'God is not good'. Of course, few believers would repeat such a lie, but Young suspects that many of us doubt God's goodness deep down in our hearts. We feel this way because even though God could fix every problem in an instant... God doesn't. And this creates a lack of trust in God's goodness. Young believes the existence of evil is a wrenching question. He doesn't really try to solve the problem of pain in this chapter. He simply reminds us that there is much beauty and goodness in the world too and insists on God's goodness.
Reaction
Young believes that 'God is able to heal, instantly and thoroughly', but he also recognizes that miracles are just a 'press of a pause button'. Ultimately, we will all die of our last illness. In any case, miracles are the exception, not the rule. What's interesting, in this chapter, is that Young still says (of evil): 'If I could, I would fix it', but he believes God could and doesn't. This remains a mystery for him. I would guess that Young, if his theology continues in its current trajectory, will come to a conclusion similar to something like that of Thomas Jay Oord (The Uncontrolling Love of God, which I reviewed here) in which God (in some real sense) isn't even capable of 'fixing it' instantly. But that's just a guess. I have no real objects to this chapter because Young doesn't really try to resolve the problem of pain. He simply states it and continues to trust in God.
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