I’ve been a good person, so why is God choosing to punish me? This is just one of the many questions that Harold Kushner explores in his book titled, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. In the book, Kushner explains that God cannot control all of the evil things that happen in our world and is not the one at fault when something unfortunate or tragic happens to us. This approach to the question of “Why me?” is very different from other books on the same topic which tend to focus on how all things happen for a reason because God planned it that way and this gives the book a new and refreshing feel. Kushner feels that God knows that bad things happen in our lives and feels compassion towards us and therefore tries to give us the strength and courage to get through it. Later on, Kushner explores the topic of prayer. He feels that while God does listen to our prayers, he cannot control things that are already destined to occur.
Kushner, who is a Rabbi in Massachusetts, began to write this book after suffering from the death of his teenage son. He too questioned why this tragic event had happened to him and wanted to find the answers that were eluding him and so many others who had also experienced some form of suffering or tragedy in their lives.
Kushner uses biblical and real life occurrences to give examples of suffering and tragedy and how God is essentially not the one to blame when we come across these circumstances. We should instead accept the tragedy as a random occurrence and allow God to help us have the strength to get through it. Kushner uses a friendly tone throughout the book and it never comes across like he is trying to push his religious views on on the reader. However, some parts of the book may be hard to understand if you are not familiar with the Bible because Kushner does tend to use a lot of Biblical references in order to explain his points.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has experienced suffering or some sort of tragedy in their lives or to anyone who wants to learn more about God. Kushner brings up some thought provoking theories that will ultimately bring comfort and will also help you to understand more about the way God works.