Bad Things, Good People, and God: A Guide for Teens

by Bryan Bliss

Overview

Help for teens struggling to reconcile complexity in the world and faith in God.

From the pandemic to polarized politics to school shootings, kids today face a reality that inevitably can lead to a wonder about why. Bad Things, Good People, and God offers help to teenagers as they think through one of the biggest and oldest questions of faith—why bad things happen. With stories from the Bible, a side-eye to some of the “classic” attempts at figuring all of this out, honest talk about sin and suffering, and hope for making sense of it all, this guide allows readers to explore, wonder, curse, lament, and ultimately find a sense of peace around the question of evil.

Bestselling YA novelist Bryan Bliss turns his hand to a challenging topic teenagers don't want a simple answer for—they want to know what's at stake, how it affects the world, and what difference they can make.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781640654822
Publisher:	Church Publishing, Incorporated
Publication date:	01/18/2022
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Bryan Bliss is the author of four young adult novels, including We’ll Fly Away, which was longlisted for the 2018 National Book Award. He has nearly 20 years of youth ministry experience and is a graduate of Vanderbilt Divinity School, the creative writing program at Seattle Pacific University, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in public theology at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Table of Contents

Introduction v

1 Houston, We Have a Problem 1

2 In the Beginning… 9

3 The (Mostly) Dead Theologians Answer Club 27

4 A Necessary Interlude 55

5 Are You There, God? It's Me … and I Have a Lot of Questions 61

6 What Does the Bible Say? 79

7 No Clever Title: The Chapter about Suffering 93

8 Resistance Isn't Futile 105

9 Another Necessary Interlude! 113

10 Big Hairy Questions and Other Tedious Things 117

11 Right, but I Want an Actual, Concrete Answer 135

12 An Entirely Too Short (Lib, Really, What Are We Thinking?) Chapter on Heaven and Hell 139

13 God Is Good (or, the End of This Book, Which Is Actually the Beginning) 149

14 A Totally Optional Postlude 151

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Bryan Bliss’s YA novel, No Parking at the End Times:

“Bliss’s debut explores family, sacrifice, and the power of everyday faith with a deft and sensitive hand.”
—Horn Book Magazine

“This quietly powerful story of a young woman’s quest for deliverance in the face of parental failure, religious disillusionment, and self-doubt moved me deeply. I can’t wait to see what Bryan Bliss does next.”
—Sara Zarr, National Book Award Finalist

From the Publisher