God the Ingenious Alchemist

"God's goodness is bigger than all human badness," writes best-selling author John Claypool. "God's power and willingness to forgive are greater than our human capacity to sin." The Bible is often held up as a source of family values, but it is also full of families who falter and do so generation after generation. Few families have visited as much evil on each other as Abraham's descendants in Genesis. Using these stories, Claypool explores how God turns the "lead" of evil–like Jacob's theft of Esau's birthright, and Joseph's brothers selling him into slavery in Egypt–into the "gold" of abundant blessing, as alchemists were said to do in the past. God is always more interested in our future, according to Claypool, than in our pasts. In this book, as in his other books, Claypool explores the biblical texts carefully, and with a pastoral eye for the characters from Genesis and his contemporary readers. This book offers challenge and comfort to people who feel that their sins may be beyond God's concern and their lives beyond redemption.

"In this small gem of a book, John Claypool retells the Jacob/Joseph saga in a way that brings new insight, even to those familiar with the story. Enjoy this book, a remarkable blend of simplicity and substance."—The Very Rev. Charles Hoffacker, for The Living Church"This is a quick but absorbing and comforting read and one not only to read again and again but also to give away."—Episcopal Life"In the stories of Jacob—who stole his brother's birthright—and his family, and in the stories of contemporary people, Claypool shows us how God works through people even at their worst."—The Anglican bookstore

The late John R. Claypool provided outstanding ministry in several leading Southern Baptist congregations prior to his ordination in the Episcopal Church. He authored many books, including Tracks of a Fellow Struggler, The Hopeful Heart, The First to Follow, and God the Ingenious Alchemist.