When Bad Things Happen to Good People
by Harold S. Kushner
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 394)
Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
EVERYONE !
I really enjoyed this book. It helped me to pin point one problem I had been having in determining my own personal beliefs; the contridiction between - how God can be given credit for the good, yet not the bad things in our lives. I'm not sure the book changed my viewpoints - but reading it definately helped me to sort some of them out.
This is a book I think everyone who is a close to someone going through a hard time should read this book. It was right on about the things people will say t...more
This is a book I think everyone who is a close to someone going through a hard time should read this book. It was right on about the things people will say t...more
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Read in January, 2007
I am very, very glad I read this book. It has really helped me to accept why so many awful things happen in this world to so many people who don't deserve it. The author basically states that illness and death happen somewhat randomly, but according to a certain set of laws and rules. And there was something oddly comforting about that. Like the author, I cannot accept the idea that a 5-year-old dying of leukemia happened because "he was too good for this world" or "God wa...more
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Read in October, 2007
I wish I could say that this book answers the question posed by its title. Instead, it is more of lesson on how "God" doesn't cause bad things - humans do. If this a concept unfamiliar to you then you might find this book mind opening and perhaps relieving. On the other hand, if you already felt this way, then this book might seem a bit elementary and disappointing. However, I give this book four stars for two reasons. One, the author seems like the coolest rabbi around. He seems to &q...more
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this book is full of insights...you will feel like given a brand new glasses to look on your life. after you read this book, look back to all the bad things that happened in your past....most of it are the things you are very grateful about. you smile and nod....and begining to form an understanding of where those horrible moments have taken you.
those bad things are not a punishment of our bad deed...infact...we are still loudly say that we are a good person even when a tragedy happened in ...more
those bad things are not a punishment of our bad deed...infact...we are still loudly say that we are a good person even when a tragedy happened in ...more
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Read in January, 1998
Rabbi Kushner's position is that, because suffering exists in the world, only three options are possible: (1) God does not exist. (2) God exists but is not good, or (3) God exists and is good but is not all-powerful. He chooses explanation (3). Explanation (4), that God exists, is good, and is all-powerful, but for reasons we cannot now fully comprehend, chooses to allow suffering, is not an option.
Despite its unsatisfying theology, I was reminded of three very important things from this bo...more
Despite its unsatisfying theology, I was reminded of three very important things from this bo...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
folks doing chaplaincy/pastoral care and folks seeking an explanation for bad shit
I didn't like this as much as I'd thought I would, but there's some useful stuff in here and it's an easy skim. It's definitely a useful & practical pastoral theology that's quite accessible with lots of stories and examples - contemporary and biblical.
Kushner's assumes that most people believe in an all-powerful God, in "good" and "bad" people who "deserve" things. That doesn't work for me. However, he goes to a place that DOES work for me: that "Wh...more
Kushner's assumes that most people believe in an all-powerful God, in "good" and "bad" people who "deserve" things. That doesn't work for me. However, he goes to a place that DOES work for me: that "Wh...more
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recommends it for:
Marybeth
I read this book at a bad time in my life, and it was just what I needed.
It’s very easy to read (unlike many other books in it’s category) and is written in a really beautiful way. The author lost a son at a very young age, and so he can really identify with the death of a love one, or any other loss that you might have suffered.
He (the author) is actually a Jewish priest and has many interesting but sad stories to tell about hardships that various members of his congregation have gone t...more
It’s very easy to read (unlike many other books in it’s category) and is written in a really beautiful way. The author lost a son at a very young age, and so he can really identify with the death of a love one, or any other loss that you might have suffered.
He (the author) is actually a Jewish priest and has many interesting but sad stories to tell about hardships that various members of his congregation have gone t...more
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Read in August, 2008
recommends it for:
anyone seeking comfort and peace
I read an old version - copyright 1981. Very helpful, hopeful book for those who want a Why, not a When, but will ultimately be satisfied with the answer to When. Because it turns out that asking WHY bad things happen to good people isn't a question that can be answered, and it isn't a question even asking an answer. It's a question saying, Help me! And this book does that, in an approachable, interfaith way. It is not for atheists but it may be for agnostics, and it may be for those who re...more
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Read in July, 2008
I am going to have to read this book again. It's not that it's terribly deep theologically, but Rabbi Kushner puts forth so many things to think about. I don't think he tries to say that he has all the answers or can explain everything, he just offers other ways to look at things. One issue for me is, given that he is a Rabbi, he comes from a strictly Old Testament perspective. Coming from a Christian, New Testament background, I would like to read it again slowly and with a Bible nearby to look...more
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Read in January, 1992
My mom bought this for me. One of my best friends died of cancer in 1987. We went though high school together (classes and band), went to college together and he was in my wedding in June of 1986. Then, he developed cancer throughout his various organs in the early fall of 1986 and died the following May of 1987. At 25. I saw him the week before and knew it was over. My mom bought this for me when it came out. I didn't read it right away but did later. As I was much younger then, it w...more
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Read in January, 2007
recommended to Mary Ann by:
Professor Tony Smith, University of Utah
First introduced to this book, by a professor of mine who taught a Child Life class. As part of the Child Life profession, we are forced to come to terms everyday about our beliefs on why children and families suffer so much pain that they don't seem to deserve.
This book has especially helped me these past 2 years as I've been in my own personal health crisis and struggling to understand how and why my life fell apart so hard and so fast. It provides wonderful insights about life's trials. Rec...more
This book has especially helped me these past 2 years as I've been in my own personal health crisis and struggling to understand how and why my life fell apart so hard and so fast. It provides wonderful insights about life's trials. Rec...more
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recommends it for:
Those who're grieving/coping with loss
This is a great book that attempts to answer one of the profound mysteries of the universe...how is it that God can allow bad things to happen to good people?
We rarely care, or explore, why bad things happen to bad people. We figure they deserve it. But when a child gets cancer, we can't reconcile that with our ingrained ideas about justice, fairness and goodness.
This book does NOT have all the answers, but it can be a good place to start and if you've had a loss that seemed unfair, thi...more
We rarely care, or explore, why bad things happen to bad people. We figure they deserve it. But when a child gets cancer, we can't reconcile that with our ingrained ideas about justice, fairness and goodness.
This book does NOT have all the answers, but it can be a good place to start and if you've had a loss that seemed unfair, thi...more
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Read in April, 2007
This book is for anyone who has experienced a tragedy of some sort. The message is so powerful - bad things do not happen for good reason, but we can give them meaning and turn things from, "Why did this happen to me/what did I do to deserve this?" to "Now that this has happened to me, what am I going to do about it."
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is in the midst of a personal struggle. Hopefully it will help you turn a corner in your healing and give you rene
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is in the midst of a personal struggle. Hopefully it will help you turn a corner in your healing and give you rene
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Read in February, 2008
Could not get through it...blah! I am all about self discovery and delving into personal growth...but, way to damned depressing. The title suits it well--although. it might read..."read about when horrible things happen to people and then, try to make sense of it"
I am sure it is a good book, not for me, not now anyway.
If someone reads it,and likes it...lemme know...always give a second chance.
I am sure it is a good book, not for me, not now anyway.
If someone reads it,and likes it...lemme know...always give a second chance.
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A classic. A Conservative rabbi explains the failures in traditional explanations for the existence of evil, and presents the alternative view he embraced after facing the death of his child. This was the first book where I read about the omnipotent/omniscient/omnibenevolent problem, and also the first place I heard a religious leader suggesting that maybe omnipotence isn't all that.
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I've had this book on my shelf for more than a decade before I bothered to read it! I have been having a tough spell and really needed some clarity. This book is for anyone who has questions about why we suffer and what we can expect from God/the Universe/Life. The author is a rabbi with extraordinary insight into hurting hearts, regardless of faith.
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recommended to Darcy by:
my step-dad read it when he was diagnosed with cancer and I thin
recommends it for: anyone who questions why things happen...
recommends it for: anyone who questions why things happen...
I found, in this book, a wonderful summary/explanation/voice/narrative for the thoughts I have about God and humanity. It really took the questions and thoughts I had on the subject and put them in order. It makes complete sense to me and I truly believe that Rabbi Kushner's theory is the right one. I highly recommend this book.
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Read in October, 1983
Rated: A-
Are you capable of forgiving and loving the people around you, even if they have hurt you and let you down by not being perfect? Can you forgive them and love them because there aren't any perfect people around, and because the penalty for not being able to love imperfect people is condemning oneself to loneliness.
Are you capable of forgiving and loving the people around you, even if they have hurt you and let you down by not being perfect? Can you forgive them and love them because there aren't any perfect people around, and because the penalty for not being able to love imperfect people is condemning oneself to loneliness.
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Read in June, 2004
recommends it for:
anyone who has lost someone close to them, or is going through that process
Amazing. I really loved this book. I don't want to give it away, because I think working through his arguments is part of the process. But it fundamentally changed the way I see the world, and helped me to reconnect with a compassionate world view in the face of a loss I will always consider both tragic and unfair.
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Read in February, 2008
Explores grief through the eyes of a rabbi, who postulates that sometimes bad things just happen, for no reason at all. We tend to look for reasons, blaming ourselves, blaming God, etc.
An interesting perspective to hear from a rabbi...makes the reader re-consider his/her own reactions to tragedies and beliefs held.
An interesting perspective to hear from a rabbi...makes the reader re-consider his/her own reactions to tragedies and beliefs held.
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