Review of The Advent of Time
-
aliia mahmoud
- Book of the Month Participant
- Posts: 9
- Joined: 12 Sep 2022, 12:58
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 0
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-aliia-mahmoud.html
- Latest Review: The Advent of Time by Indignus Servus
Review of The Advent of Time
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Advent of Time" by Indignus Servus.]
Love, Free Will, and the Problem of Evil: The Advent of Time' Dares to Reconcile Timeless Divine Love with Human Suffering."
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Okay, I'll be honest- I wasn't expecting much when I chose to review "The Advent of Time." I mean, another book trying to explain why bad things happen to good people? I'd never really dove into theology books before, but I figured they'd all be either surface-level answers or impossibly academic. But this one? This one hit different.
I chose to review it, but honestly, the timing couldn't have been more perfect. I was going through one of those busy weeks where life felt pretty hectic—you know, when you're juggling multiple responsibilities (including being a mom to five kids) and could use some deeper perspective. I went in expecting to just get through it for the review. Still, I ended up genuinely fascinated by the unique approach Servus was taking to explain some of Christianity's biggest questions.
This is what surprised me: Servus doesn't give you the usual "God works in mysterious ways" platitudes. Instead, he takes you on this journey through the nature of time itself. This is serious theology that makes sense of why love and suffering seem to go hand in hand.
The central idea: what if time as we know it didn't even exist before humanity fell? Blew my mind. What if our whole experience of waiting, aging, and suffering through life is a part of love's design to prepare us for something timeless and perfect? I found myself staying up late reading because these concepts kept reshaping how I understood my pain.
What got me was how Servus explains that genuine love requires certain conditions—things like free will and faith—and these same conditions make evil theoretically possible. But instead of seeing this as God's failure, he presents it as love's greatest risk and ultimate triumph. Suddenly, every struggle I'd been through felt less like random cruelty and more like... preparation for something incredible.
My biggest frustration was when the author essentially says we can't fully understand certain concepts because we're stuck in time, while God exists outside of it. While that might be true, it felt like a conversation-stopper. How do you argue with "You wouldn't understand because you're human?" It reminded me of being told "Because I said so" as a kid.
Despite that, here's why I still gave it four stars: this book reminded me that suffering is not meaningless pain but is part of a larger story being written in eternity. Also, I feel that for others, it genuinely can change how they process difficult experiences. That reminder, or maybe for others, that shift in perspective? That's priceless.
In Conclusion, if you're wrestling with big questions about God and suffering, and you don't mind doing some mental heavy lifting, this book is worth your time. But, don't go into this expecting easy answers- expect your whole framework for understanding reality to get lovingly dismantled and rebuilt. Fair warning: you might never see pain the same way again.
******
The Advent of Time
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Love, Free Will, and the Problem of Evil: The Advent of Time' Dares to Reconcile Timeless Divine Love with Human Suffering."
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Okay, I'll be honest- I wasn't expecting much when I chose to review "The Advent of Time." I mean, another book trying to explain why bad things happen to good people? I'd never really dove into theology books before, but I figured they'd all be either surface-level answers or impossibly academic. But this one? This one hit different.
I chose to review it, but honestly, the timing couldn't have been more perfect. I was going through one of those busy weeks where life felt pretty hectic—you know, when you're juggling multiple responsibilities (including being a mom to five kids) and could use some deeper perspective. I went in expecting to just get through it for the review. Still, I ended up genuinely fascinated by the unique approach Servus was taking to explain some of Christianity's biggest questions.
This is what surprised me: Servus doesn't give you the usual "God works in mysterious ways" platitudes. Instead, he takes you on this journey through the nature of time itself. This is serious theology that makes sense of why love and suffering seem to go hand in hand.
The central idea: what if time as we know it didn't even exist before humanity fell? Blew my mind. What if our whole experience of waiting, aging, and suffering through life is a part of love's design to prepare us for something timeless and perfect? I found myself staying up late reading because these concepts kept reshaping how I understood my pain.
What got me was how Servus explains that genuine love requires certain conditions—things like free will and faith—and these same conditions make evil theoretically possible. But instead of seeing this as God's failure, he presents it as love's greatest risk and ultimate triumph. Suddenly, every struggle I'd been through felt less like random cruelty and more like... preparation for something incredible.
My biggest frustration was when the author essentially says we can't fully understand certain concepts because we're stuck in time, while God exists outside of it. While that might be true, it felt like a conversation-stopper. How do you argue with "You wouldn't understand because you're human?" It reminded me of being told "Because I said so" as a kid.
Despite that, here's why I still gave it four stars: this book reminded me that suffering is not meaningless pain but is part of a larger story being written in eternity. Also, I feel that for others, it genuinely can change how they process difficult experiences. That reminder, or maybe for others, that shift in perspective? That's priceless.
In Conclusion, if you're wrestling with big questions about God and suffering, and you don't mind doing some mental heavy lifting, this book is worth your time. But, don't go into this expecting easy answers- expect your whole framework for understanding reality to get lovingly dismantled and rebuilt. Fair warning: you might never see pain the same way again.
******
The Advent of Time
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Advent of Time by Indignus Servus
