When Bad Things Happen to Good People
Encyclopedia
When Bad Things Happen to Good People (ISBN 1-4000-3472-8) is a 1981 book by Harold Kushner
, a Conservative
rabbi
. Kushner addresses in the book one of the principal problems of theodicy
, the conundrum of why, if the universe was created and is governed by a God
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 book is dedicated to the memory of his young son, Aaron, who died at age 14 in 1977 of the incurable genetic disease progeria
. http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080803/TWIST01/808030320/1128/twist
Rabbi Kushner's book was a New York Times bestseller for many months in the "nonfiction" category.
Harold Kushner
Rabbi Harold Samuel Kushner is a prominent American rabbi aligned with the progressive wing of Conservative Judaism, and a popular author.- Education :...
, a Conservative
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
. Kushner addresses in the book one of the principal problems of theodicy
Theodicy
Theodicy is a theological and philosophical study which attempts to prove God's intrinsic or foundational nature of omnibenevolence , omniscience , and omnipotence . Theodicy is usually concerned with the God of the Abrahamic religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, due to the relevant...
, the conundrum of why, if the universe was created and is governed by a God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
who is of a good and loving nature, there is nonetheless so much suffering and pain in it—essentially, the evidential problem of evil
Problem of evil
In the philosophy of religion, the problem of evil is the question of how to explain evil if there exists a deity that is omnibenevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient . Some philosophers have claimed that the existences of such a god and of evil are logically incompatible or unlikely...
.
The book is dedicated to the memory of his young son, Aaron, who died at age 14 in 1977 of the incurable genetic disease progeria
Progeria
Progeria is an extremely rare genetic condition wherein symptoms resembling aspects of aging are manifested at an early age. The word progeria comes from the Greek words "pro" , meaning "before", and "géras" , meaning "old age"...
. http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080803/TWIST01/808030320/1128/twist
Rabbi Kushner's book was a New York Times bestseller for many months in the "nonfiction" category.