What do you think?
Rate this book
Broken Planet: If There's a God, Then Why Are There Natural Disasters and Diseases?
In Broken Planet, Dr Sharon Dirckx, scientist and apologist, offers a measured and thoughtful case for how there could be a God of love that allows natural disasters.
The question of suffering is one of the greatest hurdles to Christian faith. When believers respond to the question of why there is suffering in the world, they often turn to the free-will defence. This states that humans make choices for good or ill that can bring about suffering in the lives of others. However, that doesn't explain why children die of cancer, or why the latest earthquakes, tsunamis or pandemics have been so destructive. These seem to happen not because of our choices, but in spite of them. So how do we make sense of these events?
Dr. Sharon Dirckx blends argument, science and first-person narrative in this unique book, weaving answers to real questions with compassion and empathy, while also acknowledging the element of mystery we will always live with while on earth.
Dr Dirckx addresses topics such
If God exists, why would he make a world with earthquakes and tsunamis?
Why is there so much suffering in a natural disaster?
Are natural disasters God's judgement?
Is my illness a punishment from God?
What kind of God would allow natural disasters and diseases?
If you have ever struggled to reconcile the idea of a loving God with all the pain in our world, this book will encourage you that belief in such a God is not as unreasonable as it may seem. In fact, it may be where God is revealed most profoundly.
The question of suffering is one of the greatest hurdles to Christian faith. When believers respond to the question of why there is suffering in the world, they often turn to the free-will defence. This states that humans make choices for good or ill that can bring about suffering in the lives of others. However, that doesn't explain why children die of cancer, or why the latest earthquakes, tsunamis or pandemics have been so destructive. These seem to happen not because of our choices, but in spite of them. So how do we make sense of these events?
Dr. Sharon Dirckx blends argument, science and first-person narrative in this unique book, weaving answers to real questions with compassion and empathy, while also acknowledging the element of mystery we will always live with while on earth.
Dr Dirckx addresses topics such
If God exists, why would he make a world with earthquakes and tsunamis?
Why is there so much suffering in a natural disaster?
Are natural disasters God's judgement?
Is my illness a punishment from God?
What kind of God would allow natural disasters and diseases?
If you have ever struggled to reconcile the idea of a loving God with all the pain in our world, this book will encourage you that belief in such a God is not as unreasonable as it may seem. In fact, it may be where God is revealed most profoundly.
187 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 16, 2023
5 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 9, 2024
This book gave me some new perspective. An easy read with a lot to say about something I've never been confronted by before.
The testimonies help keep the gravity of natural disasters in mind, but Dirckx does a good job of answering the hard questions for Christians surrounding the topic.
Only small critiques. A couple chapters oddly changed topic halfway through. A little bit of redundancy toward the end. A small bias toward old-earth theology. But this little book is definitely worth the time.
The testimonies help keep the gravity of natural disasters in mind, but Dirckx does a good job of answering the hard questions for Christians surrounding the topic.
Only small critiques. A couple chapters oddly changed topic halfway through. A little bit of redundancy toward the end. A small bias toward old-earth theology. But this little book is definitely worth the time.
January 1, 2025
This is a good book. It moved at a good pace. It held my interest from start-to-finish. I was able to pick back up from where I left off, and I had a hard time putting it down (as I read it primarily in my free time). It made me think, too, which I do not always do when reading certain kinds of books.
In my opinion, the book does and does not directly answer the question, "If there's a God, then why are there natural disasters and diseases?" On the one hand, as she points out (as have pastors in sermons), we do live in a broken, fallen world. Because of this world being broken, fallen, and damaged, there will be tragedies, pain, heartache, grief, and suffering until Jesus returns. So, yes, she "does" answer the question, but I think this is a question that will never have a satisfactory answer for anybody because I suspect this is more of an emotional question that cannot be answered. It is like asking why a loved one died. Even if we know the answer, knowing the answer will not take the pain of their death away. What takes away the pain is time and people around us showing us love, support, compassion, empathy, and giving us of their time so that we can be healed. Yahweh works through people to bring about healing and growth in our lives.
I think she does answer this question indirectly through the use of the testimonies/stories where people share their experiences amidst tragedy and how Yahweh moved in their lives and through their lives to touch those around them. I also think this book shows how Yahweh uses "us" (humans) corporately to bring about healing and comfort and strength in the aftermath of a tragedy.
On a random note: another thing I never really thought about is in Genesis 3 when Yahweh tells Eve that the pain she will suffer in childbirth is going to increase as a consequence of her sinning by eating the fruit. The implication there being that she was already going to suffer pain in childbirth - something I had not thought about before. So it seems like humans were going to experience some level of pain and suffering even if Adam and Eve had not sinned.
I read this book because I saw Sean McDowell hold it up on one of his YouTube videos and state it was his "go-to book" on why there is evil/suffering in the natural world. It seemed like it would be a good fit for some of the "journey" I have been on this last year periodically reading books involving people who struggled with questions regarding their faith, with evil and suffering, and how they have been changed walking through this valley but trusting Yahweh in the midst of their journey. My takeaway is that we may never get the answer we want, but we need to keep our eyes on Jesus and trust in Him. It is okay to question, but we need to accept that we may not get the answer we want. And maybe Yahweh can use us to bring healing and comfort into the lives of those around us who have suffered some kind of tragedy and are looking for answers to emotional questions that they will never receive, but who nonetheless need Jesus and His love and healing and restoration to be expressed through us as we love those around us and comfort them in their time of need.
I wanted some kind of "definitive answer" when I started reading this book. I did not get that kind of answer. What I did get, though, is that Yahweh is enough, that Jesus is enough, and the preferred method of bringing healing in times of tragedy is through the human hands and feet of His family here on Earth. We are His hands, we are His feet. We are to express Jesus to this broken, hurting world and allow Jesus to flow out of us into the lives of those we encounter each and every day.
In my opinion, the book does and does not directly answer the question, "If there's a God, then why are there natural disasters and diseases?" On the one hand, as she points out (as have pastors in sermons), we do live in a broken, fallen world. Because of this world being broken, fallen, and damaged, there will be tragedies, pain, heartache, grief, and suffering until Jesus returns. So, yes, she "does" answer the question, but I think this is a question that will never have a satisfactory answer for anybody because I suspect this is more of an emotional question that cannot be answered. It is like asking why a loved one died. Even if we know the answer, knowing the answer will not take the pain of their death away. What takes away the pain is time and people around us showing us love, support, compassion, empathy, and giving us of their time so that we can be healed. Yahweh works through people to bring about healing and growth in our lives.
I think she does answer this question indirectly through the use of the testimonies/stories where people share their experiences amidst tragedy and how Yahweh moved in their lives and through their lives to touch those around them. I also think this book shows how Yahweh uses "us" (humans) corporately to bring about healing and comfort and strength in the aftermath of a tragedy.
On a random note: another thing I never really thought about is in Genesis 3 when Yahweh tells Eve that the pain she will suffer in childbirth is going to increase as a consequence of her sinning by eating the fruit. The implication there being that she was already going to suffer pain in childbirth - something I had not thought about before. So it seems like humans were going to experience some level of pain and suffering even if Adam and Eve had not sinned.
I read this book because I saw Sean McDowell hold it up on one of his YouTube videos and state it was his "go-to book" on why there is evil/suffering in the natural world. It seemed like it would be a good fit for some of the "journey" I have been on this last year periodically reading books involving people who struggled with questions regarding their faith, with evil and suffering, and how they have been changed walking through this valley but trusting Yahweh in the midst of their journey. My takeaway is that we may never get the answer we want, but we need to keep our eyes on Jesus and trust in Him. It is okay to question, but we need to accept that we may not get the answer we want. And maybe Yahweh can use us to bring healing and comfort into the lives of those around us who have suffered some kind of tragedy and are looking for answers to emotional questions that they will never receive, but who nonetheless need Jesus and His love and healing and restoration to be expressed through us as we love those around us and comfort them in their time of need.
I wanted some kind of "definitive answer" when I started reading this book. I did not get that kind of answer. What I did get, though, is that Yahweh is enough, that Jesus is enough, and the preferred method of bringing healing in times of tragedy is through the human hands and feet of His family here on Earth. We are His hands, we are His feet. We are to express Jesus to this broken, hurting world and allow Jesus to flow out of us into the lives of those we encounter each and every day.
July 24, 2025
The book was good as an overview of the way different Christians answer the question. No one view was highlighted or emphasized, and none of the various arguments were fully developed. This was a bit disappointing to me. It was also evident that a major purpose of the book was to answer the emotive questions by sharing stories and ending the book with a chapter discussing what we can do to help others. This was all worthwhile, but not what I was expecting.
August 19, 2024
Great read. Uses interviews with victims or care givers and ties it in to biblical quotations or examples in an easy to understand format . Not too deep for any one to.understand..
January 28, 2025
This book is a sleeper. It is well-thought out and offers understanding in a world of renewing change. It offers truth when the questions are large and looming. Solid read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews