How Long, O Lord? Second Edition 

Primarily, How Long, O Lord? is a book of preventative medicine. One of the major causes of devastating grief and confusion among Christians is that our expectations are false. We do not give the subject of evil and suffering the thought it deserves until we ourselves are confronted with tragedy. If by that point our beliefs—not well thought out but deeply ingrained—are largely out of step with the God who has disclosed himself in the Bible and supremely in Jesus, then the pain from the personal tragedy may be multiplied many times over as we begin to question the very foundations of our faith.

This clear and accessible treatment of key biblical themes related to human suffering and evil is written by one of the most respected evangelical biblical scholars alive today. Carson brings together a close, careful exposition of key biblical passages with helpful pastoral applications.

1. Introduction
2. Preface To The First Edition
3. Part One
4. Hard Thinking
5. Chapter 2
6. False Steps Deriving From A Non-Christian Worldview
7. False Steps Deriving From Sub-Biblical Christianity
8. A Final Reflection
9. Part Two
10. Chapter 3
11. The Evil Of Evil
12. The Goodness Of God
13. Some Implications
14. Chapter 4
15. Evils Prevented And Perpetrated By The State
16. Kinds Of Poverty
17. Wars And Natural Disasters
18. Chapter 5
19. Suffering Peculiar To The People Of God - Discipline
20. Suffering Peculiar To The People Of God - Opposition And Persecution
21. Suffering Peculiar To The Leaders Of The People Of God
22. Chapter 6
23. The Perception Of The Problem
24. The Rhetoric Of Outrage
25. The Influence Of The Old Covenant
26. Jesus Teaching On Hell
27. The Nature Of The Church's Discipline And Cries
28. Worse Alternatives
29. Chapter 7
30. Sin, Sickness, And Death
31. Accepting Death
32. Things Worse Than Death
33. God's Megaphone
34. The Importance Of Framework
35. Suffering, Bereavement, And The Comfort Of God
36. Death Transcended
37. Chapter 8
38. The Kingdom Is Here, The Kingdom Is Coming
39. Justice Done And Seen To Be Done
40. Some Practical Implications
41. Chapter 9
42. Job's Sufferings And Initial Reactions
43. Job's Plaintive Outrage And His Miserable Comforters
44. Job And Elihu
45. Job And God
46. Job's Happy Ending
47. Chapter 10
48. The Cross Is The Triumph Of Justice And Love
49. The Cross Reveals The Kind Of God We Trust
50. The Cross Both Destroys And Establishes The Credibility Of God
51. The Cross Sets Forth Jesus As The Example
52. Part Three
53. Compatibalism Defined
54. Compatibalism Assumed Or Taught In Scripture
55. Compatibalism Explored
56. Compatibalism Defended
57. Some Concluding Reflections
58. Chapter 12
59. Compatibalism Applied
60. Learning To Trust
61. Chapter 13
62. Appendix
63. The Current State Of Affairs
64. Is AIDS God's Judgement