On April 16, 2007, the nation watched in disbelief as the severity of the tragic events on the campus of Virginia Tech came to light. After the dust settled, 32 students and faculty had been shot to death by another student who then took his own life.

As a member of the Virginia Tech community, Jim Pace, pastor of New Life Christian Fellowship in Blacksburg, experienced the pain and grief of the shootings up close, interacting with students and families whose lives had been shattered.

Through this, as well as on national television, Pace faced some difficult questions about the goodness of God.

If God is good and all powerful, why didn't he stop the shooter? For that matter, why didn't God stop the earthquake that ravaged Haiti? Why didn't God protect the little child whose body was found in the city dump?

How are we expected to have faith in and love a God who can't seem to keep us from suffering?

In "Should We Fire God?," Pace attempts to answer these types of questions about God and to add his perspective of why we go through difficult times.

Pace admits to having his own doubts but maintains that such doubts and questions do not make a person less spiritual. Rather, these doubts simply show both our humanity and our desire to know the truth.

The first few chapters of the book are spent validating questions, letting the reader know that it is OK to ask such questions.

Using the analogy of a disease, Pace presents the Biblical teaching that the world has a sin infection and that it is through this suffering that God empathizes with us. Pace writes, "the reality is that the God who created the universe is suffering right here with us."

The book does not argue for the existence of God either from a philosophical or a theological viewpoint. Pace assumes that the God of the Bible exists and is who he says he is.

He writes in a personal tone and presents the message of redemption in a clear manner while interweaving his own story of disbelief.

The book reads like a candid conversation with the author on a very difficult subject. Not all questions are answered, and some of the answers he gives may not seem enough.

"Should We Fire God?" is a book that speaks to the heart in pain.