Customer Reviews

Play the Ball Where the Monkey Drops It: Why We Suffer and How We Can Hope

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"I experienced tears and laughter while reading Play the Ball
Where The Monkey Drops It, which tells me this book truly
speaks of the nature of life...It can save you a lot of hard
fought learning and move you up several classes with its
wisdom."

Bernie Siegel, M.D., author of Love, Medicine and Miracles

"This is a wonderful exploration of how we are to understand
and respond to suffering, misfortune and death, especially
when the tragedy seems unjust or undeserved. The book is
filled with wonderful stories and personal experiences from
Greg Jones' life and ministry. He clarifies what we should and
should not expect of God in such crises. Those who heed the
wisdom of this book will grow in the face of adversity."

Edward A. White, Senior Consultant, The Alban Institute

I began reading this book [recently]. The world was asking "where was God" on that day. Dr. Jones discusses that very question and his insight was comforting. This book brought a new dimension to my faith and my trust in God's love and power in our daily lives. The book is easy to read and understand and very helpful for anyone that has lost a loved one or is dealing with a personal "why me, Lord" situation. I highly recommend it.

Dr. Jones' book does a wonderful job explaining "Why me Lord". It is a must read for those who recently had to deal with tragedy. It is also helpful to others in gaining an understanding of life's up and downs and how faith and God works in your life through challenging times. It is well written, easy to read, and truly insightful.

I have to mention that I am a member of Greg's current Church. This book does a wonderful job of describing God, and how to make God a part your life - everyday. It doesn't take long to read (it took me about two hours). For those having a crisis of faith, I would call it a "must read." ...I would hope many who ask "why" would read this book. It is written in common, easy to read language. As you read it you KNOW what is written is TRUTH.

A year before she passed away, a close and dear friend of our family gave me this book to read. She attended the church where Dr. Gregory Knox Jones pastors in Chester, Virginia. This book was life changing for me; my perception of God, life, and myself changed dramatically. I would encourage anyone who believes in God or a Higher Power to seriously consider reading this inspirational piece of literature. You, too, may find the spiritual messages contained within this book to be powerful and meaningful to your life.

wonderful book. a must read for all who question why suffering occurs and where is God in the mix.

Wonderful book by a sincere man trying to explain why a God who is all good allows suffering. Very touching stories about extreme loss and people struggling to recover from grief. Intelligently written, the author takes into account what we cumulatively know about life from science, history, and personal experience, then does not shy away from tough questions like 'if God could save one person from a burning building, why doesn't he stop the fire from starting and save everyone?' (my example)

The main idea, as I understand it, is that God is not an all-controlling force, but a persuasive force who allows us true freedom. He is there to inspire, give us strength, and help us to find the best way to live and deal with what life throws in our paths. Also, how the choices we make can collectively produce wonderful or less than ideal outcomes, which may explain why some events seem like miracles and why often desperate prayers seem to go unheard. Highly recommended.

Somewhat disappointed by this book
The Author makes some suggestions of why we suffer, and a few I can agree with, but many are purely his thoughts without merit - stating things like " perhaps God can't control certain things in this world" -it's very easy for anyone to pick and choose select versus from the Bible to make most any point they want to convey, and the world needs to be very careful of this these days ...but taking in the whole context of The Bible, it clearly tells us he can and does.
Suffering in life is a great mystery, not only to Christians but to everyone, and I'm sorry to say you won't find much help by reading this book....I would suggest a book to help you with your faith, so you will believe that God does control everything and you can completely put your troubles in his hands.