Beauty Of The Written Word

The books by David B. Hart that I ordered finally came after almost 3 weeks (let this be a word of caution to those who choose "free shipping" :-) and I'm reading The Doors of the Sea: Where Was God in the Tsunami. It's a compilation of a few theodicy articles Hart wrote about the tsunami of 2004 (links to articles at bottom of page). I don't agree with all his ideas, but he writes in a style that I appreciate, which makes me feel a little guilty - it's like being attracted to someone just for their body :-) Here is an example of his imagery, in just one sentence about the sea ...

Up there, when the weather is calm, the water is a smooth, immeasurable, tremulous mirror of the tropical sky, gleaming like silver, furling with crystaline brilliancy, its waves sapphire blue at their crests and a deep glassy green in their inner folds.

The very end of the book is moving ...

... the world remains divided between two kingdoms, where light and darkness, life and death, grow up together and await the harvest. In such a world, our portion is charity, and our sustenance is faith .... it is a faith that set us free from optimism long ago and taught us hope instead ... that God will not unite all of history's many strands in one great synthesis, but will judge much of history false and damnable; that he will not simply reveal the sublime logic of fallen nature, but will strike off the fetters in which creation languishes .... and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor any more pain, for the former things will have passed away, and He that sits upon the throne will say, “Behold, I make all things new.”

The middle of the book is for you to discover, if interested :-)

Tsunami and Theodicy - First Things

Hart by the Numbers - Touchstone
Tremors of Doubt - The Wall Street Journal