''When Bad Things Happen to Good People'' () is a 1981 book by

Harold Kushner Harold Samuel Kushner (born April 3, 1935) is a prominent American rabbi and author. He is a member of the Rabbinical Assembly of Conservative Judaism and served as the congregational rabbi of Temple Israel of Natick, in Natick, Massachusetts, f ...

, a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

. Kushner addresses in the book one of the principal problems of

theodicy Theodicy () means vindication of God. It is to answer the question of why a good God permits the manifestation of evil, thus resolving the issue of the problem of evil. Some theodicies also address the problem of evil "to make the existence o ...

, the conundrum of why, if the universe was created and is governed by a

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

who is of a good and loving nature, there is nonetheless so much suffering and pain in it—essentially, the evidential

problem of evil The problem of evil is the question of how to reconcile the existence of evil and suffering with an omnipotent, omnibenevolent, and omniscient God.The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,The Problem of Evil, Michael TooleyThe Internet Encyc ...

. The book argues for

theistic finitism Theistic finitism, also known as finitistic theism or finite godism, is the belief in a deity that is limited.Geisler, Norman; Watkins, William D. (1989). ''Finite Godism: A World with a Finite God''. In ''Worlds Apart: A Handbook on World Views'' ...

.Michael, Martin. (1990). ''The Finite God Theodicy''. In ''Atheism: A Philosophical Justification''. Temple University Press. pp. 436-438. Kushner proposes a finite God solution to the problem of evil. God is benevolent but not all-powerful to prevent evil. The book is dedicated to the memory of Kushner's young son, Aaron, who died at the age of 14 in 1977 of the incurable genetic disease

progeria Progeria is a specific type of progeroid syndrome, also known as Hutchinson–Gilford syndrome. A single gene mutation is responsible for progeria. The gene, known as lamin A (LMNA), makes a protein necessary for holding the Nucleus of the cell ...

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

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with b ...

category.

Thesis

Kushner seeks to offer comfort to grieving people. His answer to the philosophical problem is that God does his best and is with people in their suffering, but is not fully able to prevent it. Kushner's beliefs, which seem to question God's

omnipotence Omnipotence is the quality of having unlimited power. Monotheistic religions generally attribute omnipotence only to the deity of their faith. In the monotheistic religious philosophy of Abrahamic religions, omnipotence is often listed as one ...

, have been criticized by some conservative scholars associated with

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses o ...

Rabbi Y. Kirzner, ''Making Sense of Suffering'' . as well as

evangelical Christianity Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

. Atheist philosopher Michael Martin has disputed Kushner's finite God theodicy.

Recognition

*''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' bestseller, "nonfiction"

References

External links

*
When bad things happen to good people
' 2001 edition with a new preface
"Rabbi Kushner: An 'Accommodation' With God"
''Morning Edition'' interview with Rabbi Kuchner on NPR in 2010 at the 30th anniversary of publication. 1981 non-fiction books Religious studies books Theodicy Schocken Books books {{judaism-book-stub