When Bad Things Happen to Good People.

            

             Kushner has one of the most understandable explanation of God and his relationship with suffering. Kushner gives us a reason to belief in God because he explains to us that God isn"t responsible for the bad things that he is good but not all-powerful as we were taught He was.

             The book starts with Kushner"s explanation of why the righteous suffers. He believes that the reason that bad things happen to good people is that there is no reason. That there was a pocket of chaos left from when the universe was nothing but chaos.

             Suffrage, like a bullet, doesn"t have a conscience it strikes anyone that gets in its way. Suffrage isn"t a tool of God to just punish evil people and to never strikes a good person; it will strike anyone at any time.

             The story of Job has two completely different translations and meanings. In the both stories Job goes through numerous painful ordeals. But in the first story the Devil makes a bet with God to test His most faithful follower and see if he keeps his faith, Job does. In the second story, Job doesn"t keep his faith because he is human and is mad. He challenges God to explain why he is being punished but the answer God gives him is not what he expects. God says, in the effect, "Can you do any better, I think not." "There are three statements that everyone would like to believe:.

             A. God is all-powerful and causes everything to happen in the would. Nothing happens without His willing it.

             B. God is just and fair, and stands for people getting what the deserve, so that the good prosper and the wicked are punished .

             C. Job is a good person.

             As long as job is healthy and wealthy, we can believe all three" (Page 37). But when Job suffers we can believe in only two, any two. If Job isn"t a sinner and God is all powerful than God isn"t just and fair, etc. Kushner"s explanation is that God is kind and Job is good but God doesn"t have control over every thing.