Painfully Aware of the Abyss: A Review of Holly Burkhalter’s “Good God, Lousy World, & Me”

Last updated on: January 8, 2014 at 11:14 am by Ellen Painter Dollar

Painfully Aware of the Abyss: A Review of Holly Burkhalter’s “Good God, Lousy World, & Me” 2014-01-08T11:14:33-05:00 Ellen Painter Dollar

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I once read a novel in which the protagonist divided humankind into two categories: those who are always aware of the “abyss,” and those who are not. “The abyss” referred to the darkness and suffering that pervade human life, the agony that screams from newspaper headlines and whimpers in lonely corners. I immediately recognized myself as one who is painfully aware of the abyss. Holly Burkhalter, author of Good God, Lousy World & Me, is also one of us. For many years, her intimate knowledge of the world’s darkness, particularly the hideous ways that human beings can treat one another, made her an angry atheist.

Burkhalter’s career in human rights work brought her face to face with the craven depths of humanity. Her book opens with a scene in West Africa in 1990, where she and her fellow aid workers heard eyewitness accounts of atrocities taking place in Liberia. When a fellow worker publicly thanked God for carrying the workers safely through the African bush and sparing them flat tires, Burkhalter

…thought I’d vomit…Praising God for our spectacular privileges, right down to our intact tires, in the face of the hunger and trauma we’d just witnessed, struck me as downright obscene. I wasn’t a Christian at the beginning of the trip, and by the end of it I could scarcely tolerate the sight of those who were.

Read the entire review at the Englewood Review of Books.

Previous Post

January 7, 2014

Deep in a Place of Exile, Waiting for the Return

Next Post

January 20, 2014 MLK's "Single Garment of Destiny" & Slavery's Legacy

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category disability ethics parenthood Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Where does Scripture say, "do not let the sun go down on your anger"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Proverbs Genesis Ephesians Luke