God the Ingenious Alchemist: Transforming Tragedy Into Blessing

by John R. Claypool

"God's goodness is bigger than all human badness," writes best-selling author John Claypool in this timely new book. "God's power and willingness to forgive are greater than our human capacity to sin."

The Bible is often held up as a source of family values, but it is also full of families who falter and do so generation after generation. Few families have visited as much evil on each other as Abraham's descendants in Genesis. Using these stories, Claypool explores how God turns the "lead" of evil–like Jacob's theft of Esau's birthright, and Joseph's brothers selling him into slavery in Egypt–into the "gold" of abundant blessing, as alchemists were said to do in the past. God is always more interested in our future, according to Claypool, than in our pasts.

In this book, as in his other books, Claypool explores the biblical texts carefully, and with a pastoral eye for the characters from Genesis and his contemporary readers. This book offers challenge and comfort to people who feel that their sins may be beyond God's concern and their lives beyond redemption.

112 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2005

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Rev. Dr. John Rowan Claypool IV was well known and much loved in two branches of the Church in the United States. He began his ministerial career as a Southern Baptist; mid-life he became an Episcopal priest. A gifted preacher, teacher and writer, he excelled in all three pursuits. He wrote this little book, based on the story of Joseph in Genesis, to demonstrate how God makes gold out of dross. He calls God an "ingenious alchemist" for His ability to redeem the worst of situations and even use horrible misfortune to build something new and better and more valuable. Father Claypool acknowledges his own affliction with cancer in the preface to this book. He firmly expresses his expectation that God will find some good even in his illness. The book was published on 1 April 2005; Claypool died on 3 September 2005. This book appears to be that good which God accomplished in the author's last days.

[Sudie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent inspirational little book.

[Michelle Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful perspective on Gods intervention on the world. Really what I needed to read in this moment!