Does God have emotions?

Except taken from the chapter
"Evil and Suffering as Seen in Scripture’s Redemptive Story"
from Randy Alcorn’s new release If God is Good.

Some time ago theologians formulated the doctrine of God’s impassibility. They argued that God was “without passions.” Their motive was to distinguish God from the mood swings and more erratic and unstable aspects of human emotions. Unfortunately, many Christians came to believe that God doesn’t have emotions.

It’s critical that we know the heart of God. He genuinely loves and cares about us. If we believe he has no emotions, then we will never feel his love for us, nor will we experience deep love for him.

An abundance of biblical passages show that God experiences a broad range of emotions. God commands us not to “grieve” the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). God is said to be “angry” (Deuteronomy 1:37), “moved by pity” (Judges 2:18, ESV), “pleased” (1 Kings 3:10), and “to rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). Genesis 6:6 says, “So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart” (NLT).

Some explain these verses as ascribing human emotions to God so that we can relate to him better. But surely God wants us to relate to him as he really is, and passages that don’t describe him as he is would mislead us. God wants us to understand that he can genuinely grieve, his heart full of pain. Surely he didn’t choose these powerful words so we would respond, “Of course, God didn’t really feel moved—he has no emotions.”

Since God made us in his image, we should assume our emotions are reflective of his, even though ours are subject to sin while his are not. Consider a small sampling of verses illustrating God’s emotions:

Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. (Exodus 32:10)

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
(Psalm 103:13)

“In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the LORD your Redeemer. (Isaiah 54:8)

As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. (Isaiah 62:5)

Nor does God limit his compassion to his children. He says, “I wail over Moab, for all Moab I cry out” (Jeremiah 48:31).

A passage about God’s goodness and compassion contains a remarkable statement: “In all their distress he too was distressed” (Isaiah 63:9). A form of the same word is used to describe God’s people’s distress as to depict God’s own. Yes, our distress can involve feelings which God doesn’t feel, such as helplessness and uncertainty. But clearly God intends us to see a similarity between our emotional distress and his.

The fact that the second member of the triune God suffered unimaginable torture on the cross should explode any notion that God lacks feelings. In the suffering of Jesus, God himself suffered. No one who grasps this truth can say, “God doesn’t understand my suffering.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in a Nazi prison camp, “Only the suffering God can help.”

Excerpted from If God Is Good by Randy Alcorn Copyright © 2009 by Randy Alcorn. Excerpted by permission of Multnomah Books, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

If God Is Good by Randy Alcorn
Multnomah Books/September 15, 2009
ISBN 978-1601421326/Hardcover/512 pages/$24.99
http://www.mpbooks.com/

About If God is Good:

Every one of us will experience suffering. Many of us are experiencing it now. As we have seen in recent years, evil is real in our world, present and close to each one of us.

In such difficult times, suffering and evil beg questions about God—Why would an all-good and all-powerful God create a world full of evil and suffering? And then, how can there be a God if suffering and evil exist?

These are ancient questions, but also modern ones as well. Atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and even former believers answer the question simply: The existence of suffering and evil proves there is no God.

In this captivating new book, best-selling author Randy Alcorn challenges the logic of disbelief, and brings a fresh, realistic, and thoroughly biblical insight to the issues these important questions raise.

Alcorn offers insights from his conversations with men and women whose lives have been torn apart by suffering, and yet whose faith in God burns brighter than ever. He reveals the big picture of who God is and what God is doing in the world–now and forever. And he equips you to share your faith more clearly and genuinely in this world of pain and fear.

Randy Alcorn delves deep into a profound subject, and through compelling stories, provocative questions and answers, and keen biblical understanding, he brings assurance and hope to all.

For radio interview information, contact:
Audra Jennings - 800-927-0517 x 104 - ajennings(at)tbbmedia.com

Coping with Grief at Christmas

Losing a loved one is always difficult, but so many find the grief devastatingly unbearable during the Christmas season. In his new book Transforming the Valley of Grief, author Tom Mason shares his journey of grief after the loss of his wife. This slim volume is a manual for anyone who is coping with grief and offers practical insight and suggestions to those in “the valley of grief” this Christmas.

Transforming the Valley of Grief follows Mason’s own journey from the moment the tsunami of grief crashed into his life, through the peaceful, solitary moments meeting God in the wilderness, in the times where unexpected memories triggered flash floods of emotion and to the moment when the valley opened up and he was able to fully embrace his changed life. The book includes many specific, practical tips for both grieving men and those who love them and want to support them through the valley. Each chapter concludes with a “notes to self” section with positive suggestions for men to try at different points in their journey of grief and a “notes to others” section. At the back of the book there is a collection of discussion questions perfect for use in a grief support group.

This slim volume is the perfect gift for the friend or loved one who is coping with loss, and it is essential reading for anyone who wants to support a grieving man but doesn’t know what to do or say. Mason offers beautiful spiritual insights, often drawing from the comforting words of the psalmist. But perhaps more important are his detailed directions for surviving single life—everything from how to plan an effective mini-sabbatical and how to find your way as a “pre-married” in the church singles group to what you should do with the leftovers your wife would have made creative use of (toss them and forgive yourself). The loss of a loved one always brings change, and Mason helps readers think through the various decisions they will face as a result (i.e., Should I stay here or move away? Do I want to remarry someday?).

Mason shows readers that, though the journey of grief begins in the darkness of the valley, God will reveal new light, joy and purpose as you “do the work” of grieving and He transforms the valley. “There is hope, even if you can’t believe it right now! There is light at the end of the tunnel,” Mason says. “There is an end to your dark valley, and this book is about getting there and the various steps and stages along the way.”

Tom’s journey of grief is the topic of his book, Transforming the Valley of Grief, a new manual for grieving men which documents his healing process and contains many practical suggestions for others who find themselves (or their friends) dealing with the loss of a loved one. He was compelled to write the book after searching in vain for a book on grief written from the male perspective to guide him through his own journey.

“I am absolutely convinced that men and women process grief differently. Women are from Venus, and men are from Mars, after all,” Mason says. “Women process grief verbally; men retreat to their caves to grieve in isolation, or at least, they are expected to do so.” Tom has written this book so that no man must travel the valley alone.

Transforming the Valley of Grief by Thomas O. Mason
Xulon Press September 2009
ISBN: 978-1-60791-616-1/131 pages/softcover/$14.99

http://www.stonemason1621.blogspot.com/

For review copy or interview information, contact:

Tracy McCarter - tmccarter(at)tbbmedia.com - 800-927-0517 x109

Q&A with best-selling author Kathy Herman

Heart-pounding suspense meets heart-challenging truth as best-selling author Kathy Herman returns to Sophie Trace in her new page-turner, The Last Word. Based on Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the gentile,” Herman’s second installment in the Sophie Trace series triumphantly demonstrates God’s miraculous ability to heal the broken.

Herman believes that works of fiction can often address real life issues better than non-fiction can because they are less confrontational and more easily relatable. In the interview below, she shares more about her latest release, The Last Word.





Why do you consider your novels to be Bible studies without the homework?

I guess because my characters ask the hard questions that we all ask—and struggle until they find answers. Even though my books are exciting and entertaining, I weave the morality struggles through the storyline right along with the suspense elements to keep the reader turning the pages. I like to think of my books as “no guilt” reading. It’s fiction, but with a biblical, inspirational message that is relevant to everyday life.

For those who didn’t catch the first installment in the series, can you give us a little background about Sophie Trace and its main characters?

Sophie Trace is a fictional town in the shadow of the Great Smoky Mountains (not far from Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge). It’s pretty town of 13,000 and tourism is big. Many people who grew up here believe that a history of unexplained crimes is the work of the red shadows—the spirits of the departed Cherokee who roam the countryside seeking to do wreak havoc on the descendants of those who took their land.

In the first book, The Real Enemy, the main character, Brill Jessup, is the first female police chief in Sophie Trace. She took the position after a stellar eighteen-year career on the Memphis police force—mostly to escape some painful memories.

Brill and her husband, Kurt, are struggling through marital problems and are staying together to raise their youngest child, nine-year-old Emily. Their two oldest children, Ryan and Vanessa away at college.

While Brill is trying to cope with her unrelenting bitterness and un-forgiveness, she is faced with a series of bizarre disappearances in Sophie Trace—the biggest crime in the town’s history. She has to come to grips with the superstition around the red shadows legend and how it affects the community’s thinking—and figure out the truth of what’s going on.

Meanwhile, Kurt commits to winning her back by taking seriously the words of Romans 12:21, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” He strives to overcome the very evil he has created and put his family back together.

Tell us about the Scripture verse upon which The Last Word is based. Why is this theme so important to you?

The Last Word, the second book in the series, is based on Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…”

I chose Romans 1:16 and built a story around it because there’s never been a time in history when believers have had a greater chance to make an impact on lost and dying world. With the Internet all the social networking venues, each of us has a chance to share our faith in ways never before possible. But so often, we don’t speak up. In fact, we don’t look or sound any different than the world. It’s as though we’ve lost our zeal for the Great Commission or simply don’t feel comfortable acting on it. My hope is that this riveting story will inspire believers to be ambassadors of the faith as we’ve been empowered to be.

Full of suspense, The Last Word follows Police Chief Brill Jessup as she tries to catch a killer on the loose. Can you describe Brill for us?

To quote her detective captain, “She’s a redheaded spitfire.” Brill’s intuition has served her well, and she can crack open a case faster than almost anyone. She’s an honest cop who brings a lot of experience to this town that is starting to experience big city crime. She’s principled. Fair. Tough. And prayerful. Her faith has been tested many times, not just on the job, but in her marriage. For Brill, law enforcement is much more than a job—it’s a calling. Though she doesn’t wear it on her sleeve, Brill strives hard to honor God in the way she treats her officers and the way she protects the community.

What dilemmas does Brill’s daughter, Vanessa, encounter during the book?

Vanessa has to decide whether or not to keep the baby she’s carrying or give him up for adoption. She’s single and still in college. The baby’s father is her psychology professor. And after she told him she was pregnant and then refused his ultimatum that she get an abortion, he disappeared without a trace. Vanessa is heartbroken but is crazy about the baby. She has no way to support him.

As if that weren’t enough, Vanessa is also friends with an old man who is dying—and she’s forced out of her comfort zone by some of his taunting spiritual questions and must decide whether she’s willing to stand up for her faith and tell him he needs Jesus. Especially when she knows she’s not a shining example of what a Christian should be.

Ultimately, Vanessa must confront the affair she had with her professor and admit to herself that it was sinful—and allow God to take away the guilt she doesn’t realize has crippled her relationship with God.

What we can expect from the last book in the trilogy?

More of the same fast-paced suspense! The final book, The Right Call, is based on 2 Peter 2:19, “For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.” It features a character from book two that everyone is going to be wondering about, and who will be a prominent character in my Langley Manor Trilogy coming in 2011. This is a story about choosing whom we will serve—and it’s serious business!

The Last Word Book 2: Sophie Trace Trilogy by Kathy Herman
David C Cook/October 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4347-6785-1/390 pages/softcover/$14.99
http://www.davidccook.com/ ~ http://www.kathyherman.com/

For review copy and interview information, contact:
Audra Jennings - 800-927-0517 x104 - ajennings(at)tbbmedia.com

Check out the Touching Wonder Christmas Special

Visit uReadBooks to listen to a special presentation of Touching Wonder and recommend this special to your local radio station.

Does it seem like you have heard the Christmas story a few too many times for it to still hold the wonder that it once had? With his instant classic, Touching Wonder, author John Blase breathes new life into the story of the Nativity. Just in time for the holiday season, uReadBooks.com presents a half hour Christmas special featuring excerpts from this new book.


About the book:
Little children understand how amazing the Nativity story is. But, sometimes, as we become men and women, we put away the childlike with the childish. The result? We lose something vital—the wonder of it all. When author John Blase went looking for the lost wonder of Christmas, he went back to the place he’d last seen it—the stories from Luke 1-2. What he found fills the pages of his new book, Touching Wonder: Recapturing the Awe of Christmas (David C Cook, September 2009), with flesh and bone and dust and night and a baby’s cry; the intimate union of human and divine—the Incarnation.

By boldly imagining the first two chapters of the gospel of Luke, writer, editor, and former pastor John Blase has created an instant classic for Christmastime. In a tale that reads like a novel parallel parked by the record of Scripture, Blase beckons those who could use a little wonder in their lives to step onto the stage of history and witness the long awaited coming of the Messiah. With Eugene Peterson’s The Message Bible translation as his backdrop, Blase adds his own voice and commentary to the historic events, exploring the renowned drama from an array of viewpoints.

In Touching Wonder, readers will meet a cast of unruly unlikelies—a frightened teenaged girl, a worried carpenter, a collection of senior citizens, a disillusioned young shepherd, even an angel or two—moving toward the realization that the little one just born is the One. This imaginative retelling of the grand miracle will leave readers wide-eyed, slack-jawed, and heart-full. The Lord is come!

Touching Wonder: Recapturing the Awe of Christmas
by John Blase
http://www.davidccook.com/

http://www.johnblase.com/

To listen to or download the program, visit www.ureadbooks.com/touchingwonder.

Discover the Rest of Health!

In the New Year, explore the rest of health – beyond dropping pounds, taking vitamins, and lowering blood pressure. In their new book, The Rest of Health, Dave and Sonya Cameron share with readers how to live the abundant life God has for them and attain vibrant health in body, soul, spirit and relationships. Dave, a family physician, and Sonya, a licensed marriage and family therapist, discuss how to integrate a life-giving Christian faith with the knowledge and tools of healthcare professionals to equip people with skills for healthy living. This New Year, discover The Rest of Health to better able complete your God-given ministry.

Q: Many readers may be surprised that “Taking Care of Your Body” doesn’t happen until step 4, over half-way through the seven step process. Why isn’t “taking care of your body” the first step in recovering health and well-being? Shouldn’t we all be exercising and taking vitamins if we want to be healthy?

A: This is a great question. You will notice that only one of the steps, or “skills” as we outline in the book, is even about physical health. In both Dave’s medical practice and Sonya’s counseling practice, we constantly see people who view health too narrowly. Many people think of health as dropping pounds, lowering blood pressure, etc. These are all good, healthy things, but when the underlying motive is simply to look better physically, that is evidence that a patient doesn’t really understand the meaning of “health.” After working with so many patients, we have seen that before a patient can make lasting changes in any area of life—and this includes physical health—they must take a step back and look at the bigger picture of their life. Changes in the way we think and the way we go about making decisions makes it much easier to accomplish goals for our physical health. That’s why the first step toward recovering health and wellness is “Looking to Learn.” We need to realize that the way we have been living is not really working and then prepare ourselves for the hard work of discovering why and how we should change.

Q: What do you hope this book will accomplish in the lives of readers?

A: There are so many purposes we hope The Rest of Health will accomplish in our readers. We want to show people how to attain vibrant health in their body, soul, spirit and relationships, which will allow them to enjoy life more than ever before. We want to help people overcome the obstacles that have tied them down, so that they might be free to live the abundant life God has for them. We want to integrate the life-giving Christian faith with the knowledge and tools of healthcare professions and to equip people with skills for healthy living, that they might become better able to complete the ministry to which God has called them. Ultimately, our desire is to bless people by helping them to understand and experience God in new ways. As we promote this spiritual intimacy, we seek to bless God and bring Him glory.

David Cameron is a family physician in Lakewood, WA, who takes care of the whole family, delivering babies by night and treating adults and kids in the clinic by day. Sonya Cameron is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and an Adjunct Professor for Life Pacific College. Together, the Camerons are the founders of The True Foundation, an organization serving in the United States and Canada that works with community and health organizations as health educators and partners with churches from several denominations and non-profit companies to fill the role of para-church ministry. The True Foundation educates and trains individuals, churches and organizations to integrate key elements of Christianity with health care expertise. The Camerons’ first book, The Rest of Health, is a work of creative non-fiction based on the core principles of The True Foundation.

To find out more about The Rest of Health and the Camerons’ organization, The True Foundation, visit www.TrueFoundation.com and www.TheRestofHealth.com.

The Rest of Health by David and Sonya Cameron
VMI Publishers/September 2009
ISBN-13: 978-1-933204-96-3/softcover/302 pages/$14.99

For review copy and interview information, contact:

Tracy McCarter - tmccarter(at)tbbmedia.com - 800-927-0517 x109

Shattered, Shaken, and Stirred

In his candid new book, author Gilbert Ahrens shares with readers how he was able to reconnect with what matters most after experiencing loss and adversity

In the blink of an eye, life can change forever. Hopes and dreams of what we’ve envisioned our lives would be can disappear in a moment. Tragedy and heartache can instantly pierce the veil that once separated the world we knew and the one we could never have imagined. In his new book, Shattered, Shaken, and Stirred: Reconnecting with What Matters Most After Loss and Adversity, author Gilbert Ahrens recounts his own personal story of conflict, struggle, and suffering in an intimate letter to his young daughter. His story offers strength, suggestions, and encouragement to others who find themselves on the solitary journey of loss that—sooner or later—is the one thing that we all have in common.

On a beautifully clear, crisp autumn evening in 2002, while traveling outside Denver, Colorado, Gil’s car was hit head-on by a drunk driver traveling 95 miles per hour. Gil, his wife Kim, sister Margot, and three-week-old daughter Olivia had been going 60 miles per hour. The driver of the other car was only 18, and the passenger in his car was killed instantly. Gil’s family survived but just barely. Among many other serious injuries, the worst was that his wife, Kim, suffered a broken neck that paralyzed her—sentencing her to a wheelchair. Their baby daughter, however, emerged miraculously unscathed.

In a split second, the lives of this seemingly ordinary family were upended, disrupted, and derailed—just as they were beginning to learn the ropes of parenting a newborn. They were instantly transported to a new world of “survival”, which then over time transcended to the less dramatic but still unknown world of “coping.” But, in the wake of devastation and anguish is where recovery and, ultimately, redemption are found. In Shattered, Shaken, and Stirred, Gil explores and embraces the process of struggle, brokenness, and healing in a way that is honest, heartfelt, and yet at times, reassuringly humorous.

“Suffering has no purpose unless it draws us closer to God, which I think is why He allows it and created it in the first place,” writes Gil. “It is very difficult to connect with God when we feel able, strong, and self-reliant. But it is often only in our weakness, need, and insufficiency that we allow ourselves to be open enough to let God in.”

In Shattered, Shaken, and Stirred, Gil tenderly encourages readers with an eternal truth he has learned through personal trial and affliction: When there is hardship, it is for a reason. “Any valuable tool or piece of equipment needs to be tested and pushed to its limits in the laboratory before it can be ready for service in the field. God is not testing us to see if we are worthy; He is preparing us for something greater than we can imagine. The key to everything—to surviving, coping with loss, adapting to changed realities, and managing to get by—is Faith, Hope, and Love; that is how we find and reconnect with joy.”

Shattered, Shaken, and Stirred by Gilbert Ahrens
Positano Press/October 2009
ISBN: 978-0984289516/224 pages/softcover/$14.95

ISBN: 978-0984289509/224 pages/hardcover/$24.95
http://www.gilahrens.com/

For review copy and interview information, contact:

Tracy McCarter - tmccarter(at)tbbmedia.com - 800-927-0517 x109

Listen to Gilbert Ahrens interview on
uReadBooks

World AIDS Day 2009

In Celebration of World AIDS Day 2009, Crucial Arts Productions Presents an Encore Presentation of Miss HIV by EGMFilms

Miss HIV takes a look at the international collision of HIV/AIDS policies

Crucial Arts Productions, Incorporated will present an encore presentation of Miss HIV by EGMFilms at its Monthly Documentary Film Series in celebration of World AIDS Day 2009.

The presentation of Miss HIV takes place on Friday, December 11th at 7 PM EST, and is a part of the Crucial Arts Monthly Documentary Film Series. Attending again are Ms. Rusti Miller-Hill of the Women’s HIV Collaborative of New York and members from FACES NY, Inc. (formerly the Minority Task Force on AIDS), the city’s oldest non-profit minority AIDS service organization, for the post-screening discussion. All series screenings are on the second Friday of the month at 7 PM and held at the Dwyer Cultural Center, located at 258 Saint Nicholas Avenue (entrance on W. 123rd Street), New York, NY 10027. Ticket donation is $10 per person and light refreshments will be served at each screening. (Please visit http://www.crucialarts.org/ to buy tickets, see the trailer, and for more information.)

ABOUT THE FILM

Miss HIV by EGMFilms (http://www.misshiv.com/)

Miss HIV by EGMFilms explores the international collision of HIV/AIDS policies while following the journey of two HIV-positive women who enter the contest in Botswana. Filmed across Africa and at the International AIDS Conference in Toronto, this explosive ethnographic film shares both sides of an ideology struggle. What is happening in Botswana, where half of all pregnant women have HIV, is set against events in Uganda which has experienced the largest reduction of new infections ever recorded. Unlike any film you’ve ever seen on AIDS, the story takes you backstage to the Miss HIV pageant and behind the curtain on what is really happening in the war against a virus that is now the leading killer of people under 60 in the world.

ABOUT THE CRUCIAL ARTS MONTHLY DOCUMENTARY FILM SERIES

The Crucial Arts Documentary Film Series was created for the purpose of presenting critical issues to the community via the artistry of today’s film/video social commentators, the documentary filmmakers. Documentary films have a history of exposing underlying ‘truths’ that are usually eye-opening, and contrary to common belief. It is their goal to present alternative perspectives to these critical issues.

Their mission is to support, produce, promote and present performance and visual media that celebrate the diverse artists and artistry of people of color. Crucial Arts was incorporated in the state of New York as a Not-For-Profit corporation in 1999 and received its retroactive 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt Status from the Internal Revenue Service in 2000. Crucial Arts is a Registered Charity in the state of New York.

While the focus is video and film, the activities include, but are not limited to: theatre and film production, digital media and visual art exhibits, fiscal sponsorship, production management and consultation. They support Independent Filmmakers by promoting and hosting screenings of their work, as well as being a non-profit fiscal sponsor for their projects. They believe that independent filmmakers need more exposure, better distribution, and non-profit fiscal sponsors they can use for grants and fundraising.

Please join Crucial Arts at the Dwyer Cultural Center for the Harlem debut of the Monthly Documentary Film Series, as it is sure to be a powerful, and thought provoking experience.

EGM is an educational non-profit organization exploring the critical issues of our time through film and new media. The community of writers, artists, strategists, and filmmakers that embody EGM capture true stories of theological virtues moving through the human condition.