When Bad Things Happen to Good People: Twentieth Anniversary Edition, with a New Preface by the Author
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When Bad Things Happen to Good People: Twentieth Anniversary Edition, with a New Preface by the Author
As a young theology student, Harold Kushner puzzled over the Book of Job. As a small-town rabbi he counseled other people through pain and grief. But not until he learned that his three-year-old son, Aaron, would die in his early teens of a rare disease did he confront one of life's most difficult questions: Where do we find the resources to cope when tragedy strikes? "I knew that one day I would write this book," says Rabbi Kushner. "I would write it out of my own need to put into words some of the most important things I have come to believe and know. And I would write it to help other people who might one day find themselves in a similar predicament. I am fundamentally a religious man who has been hurt by life, and I wanted to write a book that could be given to the person who has been hurt by life, and who knows in his heart that if there is justice in the world, he deserved better. . . . If you are such a person, if you want to believe in God's goodness and fairness but find it hard because of the things that have happened to you and to people you care about, and if this book helps you do that, then I will have succeeded in distilling some blessing out of Aaron's pain and tears." Since its original publication in 1981, When Bad Things Happen to Good People has brought solace and hope to millions. In his new preface to this anniversary edition, Rabbi Kushner relates the heartwarming responses he has received over the last two decades from people who have found inspiration and comfort within these pages.
Rarely does a book come along that tackles a perennially difficult human issue with such clarity and intelligence. Harold Kushner, a Jewish rabbi facing his own child's fatal illness, deftly guides us through the inadequacies of the traditional answers to the problem of evil, then provides a uniquely practical and compassionate answer that has appealed to millions of readers across all religious creeds. Remarkable for its intensely relevant real-life examples and its fluid prose, this book cannot go unread by anyone who has ever been troubled by the question, "Why me?"
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Kushner's View of God is Wrong:
Kushner argues that God is too weak to stop the bad things of life. He writes, "If God can't make my sickness go away, what good is He? Who needs Him? God does not want you to be sick or crippled. He didn't make you have this problem, and He doesn't want you to go on having it, but He can't make it go away. That is something which is too hard even for God." That's not logical. How can the God be too weak to change the physical world that He created? Jesus heals the blind and crippled, changed... more info
Fantastic read!:
I chose to read this book because my Dad was diagnosed with Brain cancer and i found it to be extremely helpful, without being too 'religious'. I am not a church person, but i do believe in God. This book just seemed to wrap it's arm around me and let me think and feel exactly as i needed to, without offering any of that unhelpful help that others tend to, without thinking their words through first. I LOVED this book and it will most definitley be closely treasuerd by me, and pulled off the shelf everytime... more info
A very ecumenical view...:
Even though I am Methodist, I basically agree with Rabbi Kushner's philosophy. He takes a very ecumenical view. The book gives you a lot to think about, and is well written; although it may help if one has at least a little bit of Biblical literacy. Kushner references Genesis and the story of King David. He uses the book of Job as the central Bible lesson that connects to the theme of the book. Over all, though, I would say that it is fairlt easy reading (much easier than theological complexities by... more info
why human suffering?:
This might be the best theological attempt to deal with human suffering I know of. No facile answers, but an honest searching of ideas relating human suffering to God. Highly recommended.
