The God Who Won't Let Go: Divine Grace in the Face of Guilt, Tragedy, and Failure

Merrill (Sinners in the Hands of an Angry Church) believes that God is a God of second chances. Using a journalistic narrative style and personal profiles, Merrill examines the Bible's views on failure and relates stories about people who have, with God's help, bounced back from it. For example, Merrill tells the story of a young woman who was addicted to prescription drugs. Caught for stealing these kinds of drugs, she found herself in court, embarrassed, ashamed and repentant. Although her time in a drug-rehabilitation center failed to give her the strength to lead a life without drugs, her subsequent time in prison gave her the opportunity to attend chapel meetings and Bible studies and to turn her life around. Merrill says that she took advantage of this ""second chance,"" and she now leads Bible studies for women at the county jail. Other stories demonstrate how God gives imperfect people chances to make fresh starts. Merrill's stories give a simplistic and predictable version of how redemption operates. (June)