Is It God's Will? (Making Sense of Tragedy, Luck, and Hope in a World Gone Wrong)

From an acclaimed journalist and a rising star in theological academia, a provocative book about human and divine agency in an era of political extremism, climate catastrophe, and rising violence.

In the wake of two foiled assassination attempts while Donald Trump was campaigning for President, many of his supporters claimed Trump's survival was an act of Divine intervention, and a sign that Trump was favored by God. In his victory speech, Trump alluded to this. But his survival prompts other questions: Why did God spare Trump, but not the retiree sitting behind him? Why couldn’t God have spared everyone that day? And if God is truly omnipotent, why do so many children die in gun violence every year?

To award-winning journalist and theologian Brandon Ambrosino, these mortal questions provide us with an opportunity to explore the great questions about Divine and human agency, especially in relation to human tragedy and a world that seems to be slipping into chaos. In this powerful and searching enquiry—in the vein of N.T. Wright and C.S. Lewis— Ambrosino argues that theologians have been poorly equipped to confront these questions, because many hang on to an omnipotent model of God. Exploring the daily tragedies that so many of us must contend—as well as a provocative and challenging reading of Christ’s death and resurrection—Ambrosino provides us with the tools to understand and process grief but also presents a refreshing portrait of less a God of power, and more of one of persuasion, who can still provide a residue of hope in a world gone wrong.