Book Review: What Good is God?

What Good is God?: In Search of a Faith that Matters
By Philip Yancey
FaithWords, 2010
English, 304 pgs.


Book Description:
Journalist and spiritual seeker Philip Yancey has always struggled with the most basic questions of the Christian faith. The question he tackles in WHAT GOOD IS GOD? concerns the practical value of belief in God. His search for the answer to this question took him to some amazing settings around the world: Mumbai, India when the firing started during the terrorist attacks; at the motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated; on the Virginia Tech campus soon after the massacre; an AA convention; and even to a conference for women in prostitution. At each of the 10 places he visited, his preparation for the visit and exactly what he said to the people he met each provided evidence that faith really does work when what we believe is severely tested. WHAT GOOD IS GOD? tells the story of Philips journey--the background, the preparation, the presentations themselves. Here is a story of grace for armchair travelers, spiritual seekers, and those in desperate need of assurance that their faith really matters.

My Review:
I'm not sure about this book. It's a compilation of speeches, with a chapter to introduce each one. It kinda feels like a "greatest hits" album: "Here's all these places I've gone and here's what I told them, and Oh! I need a title..."

I'm aware that each story tells of the wonderful, saving grace of Jesus. I just found it hard to muddle through. I read each chapter watching for the answer to the title. I found that there were ample descriptions of where God has been working and what is going on in each place.


I received an advance reading copy of the book from Hachette Book Group in exchange for a review. No additional compensation has been received and I was not required to write a positive review.