“God is great,” we say to ourselves when everything goes our way. When the odds seem to work in our favor, when the rent pulls through on time, when the sickness heals, and when life shows prospects of prosperity, we seem to appreciate our existence and God’s work in our world much more. Inversely, when we face adversity, our love for our Creator suddenly diminishes. Moreover, we begin blaming Him for putting us through struggle.
Joshua 1:5 in the Bible says:
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
When God says the word “never,” it embodies a love, unconditional commitment, and a bond similar to that of a Father with his children. On the opposite side of the spectrum, some individuals are willing to walk away from Him when faced with inconveniences in their lives.
Addressing this very theodicy, one man, with his riveting series, AFTERLIFE, is looking to enlighten audiences with a gripping narrative.
With the first instalment of his three-part series, author E. Vince introduces AFTERLIFE, There Will Be Trouble. Exploring the problem of human pain and suffering juxtaposed with a good God, we see him introduce us to the Hill family, who are dysfunctionally grieving the death of their wife and mother, Karen, due to a congenital heart condition. After her passing, two surviving members of her family digress into progressively decompensating behaviors. The tale is one that will resonate with anyone who has been in a place of isolation, where they feel as though God abandoned them.
E. Vince looks to instill a message of love among readers, giving them a new perspective on Christianity and their approach toward the adversities of life. The motive of the series is ambitious, which only makes you curious: Who is E. Vince? What is his story?
We sat down with the prolific author as he walked us through his background and insights.
E. Vince describes himself as a “frustrated” artist who fancies himself as an author. He was frustrated because he spent over forty years of his professional life as a microelectronic engineer, working globally for some of the most prominent names on entry-level to supercomputer-level systems. He is also a certified data scientist, Lean Sigma black belt, and executive project manager. E. Vince has been a significant contributor, senior manager, and director. He also holds approximately 170 U.S. patents, which may be substantial but doesn’t make him an author.
E. Vince is of mixed-race descent—Black and White and is grateful to his parents for his “ethnic ambiguity.” He has experienced a fair share of hardship himself. He’s been through physical violence and other forms of racial abuse during his school years. Regarding his education, E. Vince graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1982 with a degree in chemistry and from the Columbia Evangelical Seminary in 2019 with a master’s in theological studies.
He is a recent widower who experienced severe traumatic stress upon the death of his beloved wife (after an eleven-year battle with cancer). E. Vince is also a Christian who’s served in multiple ministries over the decades. He is also a veteran of the U.S. Navy, who served as a Hospital corpsman (i.e., Medic) during the Vietnam era (he did not serve in Nam). Besides writing, he thoroughly enjoys boating, motorcycling, and reading. He has three grown children, five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
The author has been around the world, touring extensively for work and as a passion, coming to appreciate both the beauty and struggles of many people. He mentions that the catalyst for this series was witnessing Christians and other people lose their faith when encountering a tragedy. Upon understanding atheists and agnostics, he expressed the problem of pain and suffering as a legitimate reason to question God’s existence. This notion sets E. Vince’s book apart from others that brush upon the subject.
His series is for the people who are currently suffering through wars and death tolls with collateral damage increasing. Furthermore, it is for the people dealing with the irrationality of wokeness and the common pressures of life in contemporary America, including economic and relationship challenges.
Overall, the AFTERLIFE series is set to revolutionize the genre completely, shifting its focus to storing riches not on earth but in the afterlife awaiting us. It is a step forward in reconciliation with the Creator and helping individuals cope better with adversity and grief.
Stay tuned for the first instalment of the AFTERLIFE series; There Will Be Trouble, available now on Amazon.