{"id":566,"date":"2008-12-12T16:41:31","date_gmt":"2008-12-12T16:41:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/stevenwaldman\/2008\/12\/rick-warrens-dark-night-of-the.html"},"modified":"2008-12-12T16:41:31","modified_gmt":"2008-12-12T16:41:31","slug":"rick-warrens-dark-night-of-the","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/stevenwaldman\/2008\/12\/rick-warrens-dark-night-of-the.html","title":{"rendered":"Rick Warren’s Dark Night of the Soul"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/blockquote>\n

Rick Warren is keeping a list, and checking it often. He’ll have to memorize it because he can’t count on having his Blackberry when he needs this list most. This is Rick Warren’s list of questions for God.
\nIn the course of a fascinating conversation last week with Beliefnet and our partner The Wall Street Journal — click here for video <\/a><\/strong>of the full interview and here for a transcript<\/strong> <\/a>— Warren was stunningly candid about having doubts, even “dark nights of the soul.” <\/a><\/p>\n

“Oh absolutely. All the time.”
\n“What do you mean ‘all the time’?”
\n“I’ve never doubted God. But I’ve doubted why God does certain things….”.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There are parts of the Bible, for instance, that he doesn’t get — “slaughters in the Bible and rules that don’t seem to make sense and things that just don’t seem to me, to be logical.”
\n“And I still have doubts, I mean, I read the Bible and go ‘whoa, why did God say that?'”
\nHe concludes that these passages are mystifying because he just doesn’t have “the brain capacity” to understand God — but he is eager to ask Him a few questions at the appropriate moment.
\nOne is why He gave humans the ability to have babies before they’re ready to raise them. He also wants to know how prayer works – why God answers some prayers right away and not others. “The truth is, that the vast majority of our prayers, we don’t see those kinds of miracles.”
\nBut his number one question, he says, is about suffering: “I know why there’s evil in the world, I don’t understand why so much suffering happens to so many innocent people.”
\nI don’t want to give the impression Warren has lost faith. Quite the opposite. Most of our talk was devoted to his absolute conviction that the real “purpose of Christmas” is understanding, treasuring and opening the gift of grace – the idea that Jesus said In effect, “I’ve paid for everything you need to get into Heaven. I’ve paid your ticket….. That’s the gift.” (Watch him talk about “the gift”)<\/a>
\nHe offered an inspiring message about the purpose of Christmas<\/a> (the topic of his new book<\/a>) and some special devotionals for Beliefnet viewers.
\nHe also dove headlong into some of the most controversial culture war issues, in ways likely to surprise and perhaps enrage some on the left and right.
\nMost Likely to Infuriate Liberals<\/u>:<\/p>\n