Living with God in Good Times and Bad

by John Carmody
New York: The Crossroad Publishing Co., 1996.

Reviewed by Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur

John Carmody, who taught religion at Santa Clara University, was dying of cancer when he wrote Living with God in Good Times and Bad. In this book he probes the question of "Why does God allow us to suffer?" It is a question that every person who has struggled with her faith can relate to. The underlying premise of this book is that God is always with us, in our most joy-filled moments and in our deepest sorrow. We exist because God wills it and the very fact that we function is part of the mystery of God. He encourages us to sing praise to God when life is good and to feel free to protest against God when life is dark, as long as we do not turn our back on God, and continue to look for him in our suffering and wait for his light. As Carmody states, "We love the God of light instinctively, and we only put up with the God of bad news as best we can." He compares our relationship with God to that of a marriage covenant. We take seriously the vows of "for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health." The same holds true of our relationship with God. Just as in marriage, a crisis can sometimes work to make the union deeper, our relationship with God can take on new meaning and strength during a difficult time in our lives.

Carmody comes to terms with his suffering, and suffering in general, by putting his trust in the will of God. "We cannot see how what is happening to us - the illness or rape or financial ruin - could ever be good, but we do not have to see this. We have to keep open the possibility that God is using our sufferings for purposes beyond our ken." As we often have no control over the hardships that come our way, Carmody advises letting go and accepting that God will persevere.

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