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Why Did God Do That?: Discovering God's Goodness in the Hard Passages of Scripture
If God is good, then why did he do that?
Violent wars, harsh laws, pronounced judgments. Christianity proclaims God’s goodness, yet the Bible is filled with passages that seem to paint a different picture. On the surface, such depictions can hinder our confidence in God’s goodness. But when we’re willing to look deeper, we discover a consistent purpose behind everything God does—and that he is greater than we could ever imagine.
Alongside bestselling author Josh McDowell, Matthew Tingblad invites you to discover how a good God has good reasons for his challenging actions in the Bible. Throughout, you will uncover the reality of God’s consistent motives and holiness, justice, and radical mercy.
Whether you have your own questions about God or are ministering to those who do, Matthew and Josh will guide you through these difficult passages and ideas, all the while pointing to God’s power and redeeming love. Find confidence and joy in discovering that God is good—always good—even in the passages of Scripture that appear to convey otherwise.
Violent wars, harsh laws, pronounced judgments. Christianity proclaims God’s goodness, yet the Bible is filled with passages that seem to paint a different picture. On the surface, such depictions can hinder our confidence in God’s goodness. But when we’re willing to look deeper, we discover a consistent purpose behind everything God does—and that he is greater than we could ever imagine.
Alongside bestselling author Josh McDowell, Matthew Tingblad invites you to discover how a good God has good reasons for his challenging actions in the Bible. Throughout, you will uncover the reality of God’s consistent motives and holiness, justice, and radical mercy.
Whether you have your own questions about God or are ministering to those who do, Matthew and Josh will guide you through these difficult passages and ideas, all the while pointing to God’s power and redeeming love. Find confidence and joy in discovering that God is good—always good—even in the passages of Scripture that appear to convey otherwise.
228 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 12, 2023
14 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 26, 2023
It’s About Him
A familiar objection to faith is the self-centered lament, “I can’t believe in a God who . . .” Fill in the blank. Mankind constantly from the beginning has wanted to create God in our own image, to put human limits on the omnipotent and omniscient Creator. We want to bring God down to our level, either to help our pitifully limited understanding or to give ourselves justification to reject the very notion of a transcendental God.
In their book “Why Did God Do That?” Matthew Tingblad, with valuable contributions from Josh McDowell, explore some of the common human objections to the God of the Christian Bible. Their topics range widely and include God’s severe judgments in the Old Testament, the conquest of Canaan by the Jews (does that sound topical amid modern Israel’s struggles with it’s surrounding neighbors?), seemingly unfair tests of his most faithful followers (i.e., Abraham and Job), the status of women, the claimed gratuitous cruelty of Christ’s crucifixion, the exclusivity of salvation promises, and much more.
We are inclined not to do the necessary work to understand God as far as His revelation has been known to us. Instead, we are superficial in our evaluation of events that, on the surface, are difficult to reconcile with our limited human perspective. We ask ourselves, if I shouldn’t do something, why does God do it or cause others to do it? Tingblad and McDowell help us understand that there are indeed reasons and considerations that we can’t fathom, but are perfectly aligned with a perfectly moral God who sees and knows all. Understanding this can bring you to the proper place of approaching difficult parts of the Bible with trust and faith instead of doubt and suspicion ingrained upon us by a fallen world. It’s not about us limited creatures. It’s all about our perfect Creator.
A familiar objection to faith is the self-centered lament, “I can’t believe in a God who . . .” Fill in the blank. Mankind constantly from the beginning has wanted to create God in our own image, to put human limits on the omnipotent and omniscient Creator. We want to bring God down to our level, either to help our pitifully limited understanding or to give ourselves justification to reject the very notion of a transcendental God.
In their book “Why Did God Do That?” Matthew Tingblad, with valuable contributions from Josh McDowell, explore some of the common human objections to the God of the Christian Bible. Their topics range widely and include God’s severe judgments in the Old Testament, the conquest of Canaan by the Jews (does that sound topical amid modern Israel’s struggles with it’s surrounding neighbors?), seemingly unfair tests of his most faithful followers (i.e., Abraham and Job), the status of women, the claimed gratuitous cruelty of Christ’s crucifixion, the exclusivity of salvation promises, and much more.
We are inclined not to do the necessary work to understand God as far as His revelation has been known to us. Instead, we are superficial in our evaluation of events that, on the surface, are difficult to reconcile with our limited human perspective. We ask ourselves, if I shouldn’t do something, why does God do it or cause others to do it? Tingblad and McDowell help us understand that there are indeed reasons and considerations that we can’t fathom, but are perfectly aligned with a perfectly moral God who sees and knows all. Understanding this can bring you to the proper place of approaching difficult parts of the Bible with trust and faith instead of doubt and suspicion ingrained upon us by a fallen world. It’s not about us limited creatures. It’s all about our perfect Creator.
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April 29, 2024Why did God do that ?
The book asks some tough questions and provide cultural - historical perspectives before jumping into teh gist of each question/issue.
Among the questions - was it fair that God ask Abraham to sacrifice his son Issac ?
The writers take a few steps back to reframe the question. Perhaps in those days , it was culturally (and risk wise too ) NOT acceptable for a man to leave his home - taking the huge risks of bringing his family into the wilderness ; also irresponsible to abandon his duties to his parents at home . But Abraham left his home (actually his father was the first to leave ).
Yet (shockingly) child sacrifice could be something that was culturally acceptable then.
When weighing these two cultural perspectives , the call for Abraham to sacrifice Issac (which later did not happen ) is embedded in culture and context .
Analogy given : "It may be that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart in the same sense that the sun hardens clay. The sun does not force clay to harden against its will . Clay hardens when exposed to the sun simply because of its innate chemical composition".
Other issues explored - violence , slavery , the position and status of women , imprecatory psalms (psalms that call for smashing jaws and punishing enemies) and race issues.
Are these “rules” in the OT applicable today and were they actually applied in those days. - The punishments can be pretty harsh . Stoning is prescribed . Is Polygamy tolerated in the Bible ?
Thus a good book to explore these issues as the approach is sincerely searching and it does highlight some blind spots that modern day readers harbour.
The book asks some tough questions and provide cultural - historical perspectives before jumping into teh gist of each question/issue.
Among the questions - was it fair that God ask Abraham to sacrifice his son Issac ?
The writers take a few steps back to reframe the question. Perhaps in those days , it was culturally (and risk wise too ) NOT acceptable for a man to leave his home - taking the huge risks of bringing his family into the wilderness ; also irresponsible to abandon his duties to his parents at home . But Abraham left his home (actually his father was the first to leave ).
Yet (shockingly) child sacrifice could be something that was culturally acceptable then.
When weighing these two cultural perspectives , the call for Abraham to sacrifice Issac (which later did not happen ) is embedded in culture and context .
Analogy given : "It may be that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart in the same sense that the sun hardens clay. The sun does not force clay to harden against its will . Clay hardens when exposed to the sun simply because of its innate chemical composition".
Other issues explored - violence , slavery , the position and status of women , imprecatory psalms (psalms that call for smashing jaws and punishing enemies) and race issues.
Are these “rules” in the OT applicable today and were they actually applied in those days. - The punishments can be pretty harsh . Stoning is prescribed . Is Polygamy tolerated in the Bible ?
Thus a good book to explore these issues as the approach is sincerely searching and it does highlight some blind spots that modern day readers harbour.
August 31, 2023
I was given a copy before it went on sale. I have found the book to be thought provoking to say the least. Mathew Tingbald a long with Josh McDowell have obviously done a lot of research and have explained some hard parts of the Bible very well. While I am not 100% sure I fully agree with every interpretation that they have, they offered a lot of scripture to back up their research. I will definitely be doing a review and more in depth study on the subjects discussed in the book. Like the Bible itself I think every good book should stand up to you doing your own research and coming up with your own conclusions. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone struggling with the hard or harsh subjects in the Bible. I loved the book. It was an easy and very interesting read.
October 12, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Life Changing and Eye Opening
Why Did God Do That? completely changed the way I read my Bible. It gave me a new perspective and a deeper appreciation for the parts of Scripture that are often difficult to understand or easy to overlook. The author doesn’t shy away from the hard questions that many believers struggle to answer and that skeptics often ask, but instead tackles them with honesty, clarity, and biblical truth.
This book strengthened my faith and opened my eyes to God’s character in ways I hadn’t seen before. I highly recommend it to both Christians and atheists alike because it thoughtfully explores the deeper meaning behind God’s actions throughout the Bible and invites readers to wrestle with those truths in a genuine, meaningful way.
Why Did God Do That? completely changed the way I read my Bible. It gave me a new perspective and a deeper appreciation for the parts of Scripture that are often difficult to understand or easy to overlook. The author doesn’t shy away from the hard questions that many believers struggle to answer and that skeptics often ask, but instead tackles them with honesty, clarity, and biblical truth.
This book strengthened my faith and opened my eyes to God’s character in ways I hadn’t seen before. I highly recommend it to both Christians and atheists alike because it thoughtfully explores the deeper meaning behind God’s actions throughout the Bible and invites readers to wrestle with those truths in a genuine, meaningful way.
November 22, 2024
Has pieces, elements, and quotes of other books that I suspect do a lot deeper and more thorough job explaining the theological question of suffering. But I would also say this is a good compilation (albeit a little shallow, but definitely still good) for those that haven’t delved into all the questions/seeming contradictions of Christianity and need a concordance on refuting hard questions! So a two for me, but probably a 3/4 for someone in a different season.
July 21, 2024
There are some questions that you hear more often that others. This book helps you understand those questions, and understand the Biblical answers to them. This is a great easy read. I found myself nodding in agreement throughout much of the book!
June 8, 2024
Some perspectives that try to address the challenges I have had with the Old Testament. Some are reasonable however a number are difficult to understand and accept.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews