Synopsis & Media Kit
Restoring Hope
Living in the Face of Suffering and Evil
By Dr. Graham Leo · 2004 · Self-published (revised 2019)
Synopsis
Restoring Hope is a substantial theological work that takes on the oldest and most personal question in Christian thought: why does a good God allow suffering and evil? Dr. Graham Leo challenges the popular Christian teaching that God directly causes or permits suffering as part of a divine plan, arguing instead that suffering flows from sin and the brokenness of creation — not from God's intention. Drawing on Scripture, systematic theology, and an extended study of Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning — written from inside a Nazi concentration camp — Graham builds a theology of suffering that is both intellectually honest and pastorally compassionate. The book was first published in 2004 and revised in 2019 with additional material. It serves as the theological foundation for Graham's later pastoral work Finding Hope, which addresses the practical question of how to navigate suffering when you're in the middle of it.
Key Themes
- •The problem of pain, suffering, and evil
- •Why 'God has a plan for your pain' is bad theology
- •Sin, brokenness, and the nature of a fallen creation
- •Viktor Frankl and meaning in the face of horror
- •A theology of hope rooted in redemption
- •The pastoral consequences of what we believe about suffering
Selected Quotes
“Our brokenness and our dysfunction is a marker of our fundamental separation from God. It is mostly our own fault, not God's.”
“Jesus learned obedience through suffering. He lived the perfect human life that humans were created to live. We failed and Jesus succeeded.”
“Christianity is most assuredly not a leap in the dark — it is, in fact, a well-grounded leap into the light!”
About the Author
Dr. Graham Leo is a writer, speaker, and educator based on the Gold Coast, Australia. He holds a Doctor of Ministry from the Adelaide College of Divinity and trained at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics under Alister McGrath. For 25 years he served as Principal of two independent Christian schools in Queensland, including Emmanuel College — a multi-denominational K-12 school of over 1,700 students. He is the author of eight books spanning theology, fiction, poetry, education, and pastoral care. Graham describes himself as an “organic theologian” — someone homegrown in faith communities who studies Scripture carefully and communicates its truth to others. He is a Fellow of ISCAST, a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and an international conference speaker with engagements across the USA, UK, South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines.
Media & Review Copies
For review copies, interview requests, or speaking enquiries, contact Graham directly: