Suffer the Children

The stories in Suffer the Children dramatize a generation's mingled faith and doubt. "e;Suffer the Children,"e; the title novella, follows the divergent faith journeys of three baby boomers raised in the same Presbyterian church through pivotal moments in their lives until they converge at a funeral. In "e;Simple Gifts,"e; a childless and recently fatherless man questions the nature of charity on a church mission to Kenya. Two unlikely friends, one Christian and one Jewish, pursue an interfaith discussion in "e;The Disputation"e; in the context of graduate school, which poses its own challenges to their identity. "e;The Last Miracle: Incident at Nain"e; recounts a New Testament story from a fresh perspective. In "e;The Rapture,"e; a pastor questions whether the non-attending spouse of one of his members can be saved--or whether, since he seems so happy, he needs to be saved. A college campus is the setting of "e;The Recommendation,"e; the story of a student and a perplexing professor who seems to hold, or rather withhold, the answers to life's big questions. "e;The Passenger"e; follows the experience of a spiritual seeker led by an enigmatic dream to consider a new life in the church.