Return to 1st Quarter 2019 articles.

Beyond the Cosmos

by Hugh Ross, RTB Press; Third Edition © 2017,
233 pages, $16.95 (paperback), ISBN-13: 978-1886653221

Have you ever wondered how we can have free will if God is in control of all things and knows the future from the beginning? How can God hear the prayers of people all around the world at the same time? Håow can God allow evil in this world if he is all-powerful and all-loving? These are paradoxes that people ponder, and sometimes their failure to see a solution leads them to abandon their faith.

In this book, Hugh Ross deals with those questions and more. The subtitle is “The Transdimensionality of God,” and the solution to those problems lies in understanding what that means. We are limited to three physical dimensions plus a single time dimension. God is not so limited. Modern science tells us that there are more dimensions than the ones we can detect with our senses. Ross shows how science and Scripture explain the paradoxes that perplex us when we think about God. In fact, it is only through modern science that we can understand the truths that have been recorded in the Bible from ancient times.

Another faith challenge addressed in this book is how we can reconcile God’s love with the Christian doctrine of hell. How could God “tolerate, let alone create, a place or experience such as hell” and how can that fit with God’s omnipotence and perfect love?

The description of the new creation in Revelation 21 also challenges our understanding. Ross explores that with a “New Creation Travelogue” to help us understand the great things God has planned for us. He writes, “We human beings are created to give glory to God and to reflect his love. Our participation in God’s plan to conquer evil totally and permanently fits into these purposes.”

We encourage you to read this book and expand your thinking into new dimensions.

— Reviewed by Roland Earnst