The existence of suffering and pain is a persistent philosophical and theological conundrum. The “problem of pain” for religion often takes the form of a skeptic’s question: Why should I believe in God in a world so full of evil and suffering?

This is one of the questions apologist Randy Newman addresses in his new book, Questioning Faith: Indirect Journeys of Belief through Terrains of Doubt, published by Crossway in partnership with TGC. In an excerpt from the book published at TGC, Newman evaluates five common views of suffering:

1. Moralistic View: Suffering comes as a consequence of someone’s actions.

2. Reframing View: We must think about suffering and pain differently.

3. Healing View: We don’t know why there’s so much suffering but we can work to alleviate it.

4. Secular View: The reality of evil and suffering is one of the strongest arguments against a belief in God.

5. Redemptive View: The world isn’t as it’s supposed to be, suffering is an outrage, but it can also be redemptive.

Newman argues that the Redemptive View (the Judeo-Christian view), while not without difficulties, is the best explanation of real life and “points us to a world that will be recreated and a reality where pain and suffering will pass away.”

Check out the full excerpt—and pick up the book—to be better equipped to engage, and offer hope, to those in your life with doubts about God and questions about faith.