When Bad Things Happen to Good People

Infobox Book
name = When Bad Things Happen to Good People
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = When Bad Things Happen to Good People
author = Harold Kushner
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country = United States
language = English
series =
subject = Theism
God
Religion
genre = Non-fiction
publisher =
release_date = 1981
english_release_date =
media_type =
pages = 176 pp
isbn = ISBN 1-4000-3472-8
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"When Bad Things Happen to Good People" (ISBN 1-4000-3472-8) is a 1981 book by Harold Kushner, a Conservative rabbi. Kushner addresses in the book one of the principal problems of theodicy, the conundrum of why, if the universe was created and is governed by a God who is of a good and loving nature, there is nonetheless so much suffering and pain in it — essentially, the evidential problem of evil.

Introduction

In Kushner's introduction, he states that his motivation was learning that his son had been diagnosed with progeria, a disease which causes rapid premature aging and early death, usually at about the age that developmentally normal children are going through puberty. Kushner states that he originally had intended to use as the book's epigraph a portion of the Biblical verse 2 Samuel 18:33 "O Absolom, my son, my son Absolom! would God I had died for thee, O Absolom, my son, my son!" but, that upon further review and reflection, he felt that 2 Samuel 12:23 was more appropriate, "But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."

Thesis

Kushner’s beliefs, which seem to question God’s omnipotence, have been criticized by some conservative scholars, particularly those associated with Orthodox Judaism but also Evangelical Christianity. The book was strongly challenged by the late Rabbi Y. Kirzner in his in-depth book "Making Sense of Suffering" (ISBN 1-57819-757-0). Kirzner, who himself suffered terribly from cancer, gave lectures, which were compiled to form the book, in order to bring out the weakness of Rabbi Kushner's theory. Rabbi Kirzner asserted that his book is not an Orthodox Jewish view versus a Conservative Jewish view, but rather a strong logical view of God versus an emotive view of God. An excerpt can be seen at http://www.aish.com/spirituality/philosophy/Why_Harold_Kushner_Is_Wrong.asp.

Rabbi Kushner's book was a New York Times bestseller for many months in the "nonfiction" category.

Recognition

*"New York Times" bestseller, "nonfiction"

References

External links

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