Why? is a book for anyone who has questioned how suffering and a compassionate God can coexist. It will help you better understand the nature of God in Christianity, and will equip you to answer the question of 'Why?' with confidence and clarity. It is also an ideal apologetics book to give to friends and family just beginning on their faith journey or who are struggling and looking for answers.

If you have ever asked or wondered why God allows suffering, Sharon Dirckx's gentle wisdom in Why? will help you see life from a new perspective - one that makes more, not less, sense of our hurting world.

Available in paperback and eBook, and various translations.

Why? Looking at God, evil and personal suffering

Why do bad things happen in our world? Why does God allow suffering? If he exists, why doesn't he do something?

Of all the hurdles to faith, suffering must be the greatest. But how do we answer the question of 'Why?' in a credible, satisfying way?

In this revised and updated edition of an award-winning book that has helped thousands in their journey of faith, scientist Sharon Dirckx explores some of the most agonizing and bewildering questions we all ask. With compassionate warmth and insight, she offers advice to help us cope with suffering and difficulties. Alongside, she interweaves her own experiences and the personal stories of individuals who have faced some of life's toughest challenges, showing us that it is possible to believe in a powerful loving God and acknowledge the reality of evil and suffering.

More Resources.

  • Why Suffering debate

    "Why?" is the title of the new book by Sharon Dirckx looking at God, evil and suffering. She interacts with atheist Alom Shaha as we ask "how can a loving God allow suffering?"

    We also hear stories from people who have been through suffering but kept their faith. Will, who became a Christian after losing his wife and a child in a tragic road accident. Rachel who has suffered from MS for a number of years.

    Watch Online

  • Where is God when life hurts?

    Relevant Conference at Wycliffe College, Toronto looking at questions of evil and suffering.

    Dr. Sharon Dirckx is an Academic Tutor at Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford. Originally from a scientific background, she has a PhD in brain imaging from the University of Cambridge and has held research positions at the University of Oxford and in the US. She has since been invited to speak and lecture in a variety of contexts and has also appeared on the BBC and Unbelievable?

    Watch Online

  • Solas Book Review

    It is all too easy to reduce suffering to an intellectual question, forgetting that the questioner is very often dealing with a deep personal hurt that is behind what they ask. An inspiring story about a baby with holoprosencephaly is the first of five personal stories that ensure this book is much more than an intellectual response to questions about suffering. Dr Sharon Dirckx presents a logical and clear approach looking at both questions of individual suffering, particularly around illness, and wider questions such as natural disasters.

    Read More

  • Church Times

    ‘The Christian faith helps us to make sense of horrendous evil, because it teaches that there is something wrong with the world’ - Sharon Dirckx

    Apologetics are not for the specialist. We’re all called to give an answer for the hope we have. We’re all giving answers all the time, as we can, responding to people’s questions…

    Read More

What others are saying

“Written with the heart of a mother as well as the mind of a scientist, Why? is not only profound, but also tender and comforting. This book is not just about suffering; it is written by one who knows suffering, for others who are suffering themselves.”

Os Guinness, author of Unspeakable: Facing Up to the Challenge of Evil

“I love the way Sharon wrestles with the truth. She turns it inside out and inspects its seams. She shakes it to see what falls out. She looks at it through the grid of real life and defines it with doctrinally solid, scripturally sound conclusions. Both moving and challenging.”

The late Jennifer Kennedy Dean, author of Live a Praying Life, and Executive Director of The Praying Life Foundation

“When I was sixteen, my sports career was called into question when I was run over by a speed boat and got caught in the propellers. Sharon’s book puts words and reason to what I instinctively knew in my heart the day I became an amputee: God loves me, God is good, God is all-powerful, and God was mourning the loss of my leg alongside me. I flipped between anger and thankfulness that my life had been spared, but the experience of God’s peace was constant. Sharon does a brilliant and honest job of explaining this paradox.”

Stefanie Reid, professional athlete and British Paralympic medallist

“Sharon writes with sensitivity and insight about the painful reality of suffering in our world which will in one way or another affect us all. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone asking the deep questions of life.”

Dr Amy Orr-Ewing, international author, speaker and theologian

Available Translations