Building Faith Through Suffering
People usually go to a rabbi for comfort and guidance when tragedy and misfortune intrudes into their lives. So what happens when the rabbi, who has counseled others concerning their despair, is hit with tragedy themselves. This is the situation for one particular rabbi. Harold S, Kushner, Author "When Bad Thing Happen to Good People," was faced with such a tragedy. Kushner had a son who possessed a terrible health condition called procera, a rapid aging disorder. Upon hearing this news, Kushner was very confused. Kushner, had grown up believing bad things happen to only bad people, and good people were virtually home free, or free from harm, with some exceptions. He couldn't understand why it had to be his son suffering. Especially since he was a good man himself who had lived a good clean life. Nonetheless he had to face the fact that he would lose his only son to this disease, and there was nothing he could do about it. It was at this time Kushner began to question his views on who suffers and why they suffer. He realized it is not always the bad that suffers, but sometimes those that are good endure it as well (Kushner 452). These views have been reviewed and illustrated through th
Kushner, Harold S. "When Bad Things Happen to Good People" Behrens, Laurence; Rosen, Leonard J. Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum 7 ed. Elm Street Publishing Services, Inc. 1999. Once the reality of a terrible incident has set in, and you have begun to experience the suffering or pain as a result, bitterness can eventually consume you. Because of your suffering you become bitter and see only the pain you have gone through. Bitterness will isolate a man from any remotely similar situations that could possibly bring about a recurrence of the same situation which brought you pain in the first place. For instance, consider divorcees that refuse to marry again after going through a previous marriage, in which they were abused or cheated on, one time after another by the same person. After awhile a person becomes conditioned into believing that if this situation brings me so much pain, where one who says they love you is capable of hurting or lying to you, it is likely that it could happen again. The torment endured is too great to face the possibility that it could happen again. Aside from this possibility is one in which you not only are hesitant to go on, but you protect yourself by taking the identity of that which caused you so much pain. Consider this. If you are abused, then you will abuse. If you are cheated on, then you will cheat. If you are violently assaulted, then you will assault. People can become so bitter that they see only the pain they have received then feel the only protection against it, is to display yourself. In Jasper, Texas, three white men are being sentenced to death for killing a black man by beating and dragging him behind a truck on the road. During the trial one of the men, in his defense, began his testimony by telling the jury of his dysfunctional family life from birth. He explained that his mother abandoned him and his brother when he was 3, and that he never met his biological father until two weeks before the trial (Babineck). This man felt as though the pain of losing his mother and never having his father around, was compelling enough to take someone else's life, or to be party to it. He carried his anger and bitterness with him until it prompted him to act on it. Bitterness is an effect of suffering. It can destroy as it was brought on by destruction. Works Cited Babineck, Mark "Dragging death defendant takes stand" Associated Press. . Gomes, Peter "The Bible and Suffering" Behrens, Laurence; Rosen, Leonard J. Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum 7 ed. Elm Street Publishing Services, Inc. 1999.
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Approximate Word count = 2713
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)
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