Gerhard Forde wonders why "there were so few attempts to construct theodicies prior to the 18th century". He quotes Hannah Arendt as offering an answer: "When men could no longer praise, they turned their greatest conceptual efforts to justifying God and His Creation in theodicies" (pp.84-85, On Being a Theologian of the Cross).
I had a 20min conversation with a colleague at work today about why he wasn't a Christian. It was annoying because I had to cut it short because after 20min of just chatting it was about time we got back to some work. But it was also annoying because I did a really rubbish job of giving a reason for my hope... One of the many problems I see looking back on it was I failed to really praise God with what I said.
Lets pray God uses the foolish and sinful.
