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When Don, an intelligent and spiritual teenager, loses his mother and sister in a tragic accident, his anger begins to spiral out of control. He questions a God who would allow such tragedy. “Before long he began to feel an anger toward a world that seemed to be filled with so much senseless suffering, loss, and injustice.” His encounter with high school bullies leads to an altercation that convinces him that the only way to handle such attacks is through aggression. He begins to display a “cool and detached persona,” yet his inner rage remains. When he begins his post-high school studies in religion, his anger spills over at his professors and fellow students, causing him to be placed on disciplinary probation. However, the college president sees something in Don and sets up a series of meetings with a World War II survivor of concentration camps. As this fascinating survivor reveals his story, Don begins to understand the true nature of God and the cross.
In this captivating novel, the reader encounters not only a tale of survival and hope but theological arguments and discussions. Don, whose Christian upbringing leans toward a more conservative interpretation of scripture, is shocked at the liberalism he faces from his theology professors. He questions what he views as a one-sided view of theology, which weighs heavily toward the historical, empirical implications of Christ’s life rather than the mystical aspects of his death and resurrection. Unger brings together these two factions in a wonderfully written novel that offers extended arguments of Christian thought coming from the writings of early authors to C. S. Lewis. Readers will learn much of the opinions of historical writers in this in-depth look at theology and the personal aspects of a living Christ through this fictional work.