Rating: 
Summary: A promising premise, but a disappointing outcome.
Review: I have read other books by Kushner and I admire him as a caring pastor and knowledgeable theologian. I was intrigued by this title and hoped to gain some valuable insight from the book, some lesson I could walk away with, feeling better equipped to deal with the danger and seeming unfairness that is so much a part of life today. Kushner asks all the "right" questions, the questions that most people, worried, frightened, and in highly stressful situations would demand answers to. But his position, that ill befalls people simply out of bad luck, of "being in the wrong place at the wrong time," falls short of satisfying. And his contention that God is powerless to intervene in the acts of evil perpetrated by some of His children is disheartening, to say the least.The book does reassure that God is always there to provide comfort and strength, but this part of the message is outweighed by the unsettling notion of God's impotence against much of what causes our suffering today.
Rating: 
Summary: INSPIRING!!! EYE-OPENING!!! INSIGHTFUL!!!
Review: I just finished reading this book by Rabbi Kushner. It was an easy book to read and understand. I recently experienced the loss of my beloved brother. He was 36 years old and a murder victim. I am a practicing Catholic and I never questioned God. However, I found myself wondering why this had to happen to us. My brother was just an innocent bystander. A victim of being at that wrong place at the wrong time. Rabbi Kushner's book opened my eyes. His book offered me comfort and let me understand my faith a little better. I highly recommend this book to all who question God. If you find yourself asking, "How could there be a God when bad things happen to good people?" get this book ASAP!! Rabbi Kushner offers a logical and intelligent answer to this question. He makes sense. If you think you are not a religious person this book will change that. I am passing this book onto my mother. I know this will bring her comfort. Thank you Rabbi Kushner for this wonderful insightful book. It has helped me with my grieving! GOD BLESS YOU!!
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Summary: A must read when searching for God after a loss.
Review: After the recent loss of my infant daughter, I was searching for answers and trying hard to stay connected to God and continue to believe in Him. Being faced with the death of an otherwise perfectly healthy baby it was very difficult to believe that 1. God is a good, loving God.
2. God is a just/fair God.
3. God controls everything. How could God be fair and good when he would take the life of an innocent child? Why, if God controls everything, and is good, would he not spare this precious life? Why, if God is fair, would he "punish" this little girl with months of pain and suffering before her ultimate death? For anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one, particularly a child, this is a powerful book. Rabbit Kushner has addressed these painful questions with clarity and love for God. He uses the bible to back up his analysis and tells his story in a manner that everyone can understand. He also speaks to the horrible things that so many people, who think they are helping, say to those who have lost a loved one. What matters is not so much if one agrees with Rabbi Kushner's analysis, it matters that he puts forth a way to stay close to God while working through your grief. At this time, I choose to agree with Rabbi Kushner's analysis. For all those who wish to tell me it is incorrect, I know they do not have my best interest at heart. Staying close and connected to God and not turning from him must be my goal. If I cannot at this time reconcile what I thought to be true with my reality, and it causes me to turn away from God or question God, nothing else matters. Anything that can help me continue love and give praise to God while I continue to work through my grief is valuable. I commend Rabbi Kushner and consider this book a must read for anyone who has suffered a loss.
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Summary: Good People Turn to be Better humans Indeed!
Review: Harold Kushner's book has an insight for a heart touching, warming feeling for those who got to be content with Suffering. Some of the other time in life, we suffer. Why do we have to suffer? Why do Bad things Happen? Why Me? These and many questions surface our minds and that's when our 'Faith' is challenged. Why do we turn to the same God who makes it happen? The author came to see god when he faced the worst trials in his life of having lost his son Aaron when he was fourteen. God weeps with us and would not abandon us and can fill the deepest needs of an anguished heart says Harold. The story of job inspires and builds the strength and courage. Harold provides invaluable reassurances and his words are source of comfort in times of bad things happening just out of the blue. His logic that when bad things happen we dump our anger on others or turn it on ourselves. Sometimes angry on God. Why me? And then referring to Cain killing his brother Abel in a fit of jealousy...all through Harold soothes the mind to relax and be at peace saying 'God can't do everything, but he can do some important things' This ticks the mind Fate, not god, sends us the problem. If we are weak, we get angry, overwhelmed. Its faith strong all the way and God rewards in his own fashion; Knows much better what he has to do. A must book to be read by all people in trouble, no matter what their religios faith. Indeed, When Bad things happen, be positive, What happens, happens for good. Good People turn to be Better.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderfully-written perspective on God, life and suffering
Review: In a time when so many people are striving for an explanation of why their lives turn out a certain way, or why things (good or bad) happen to them, the expressions "it's all part of God's plan," "everything happens for the best," or "it just wasn't meant to be," and so on, have became a little tiresome. In "When Bad Things Happen to Good People," Rabbi Harold S. Kushner offers a refreshing point of view that differs from those who think everything occurs on earth because God wants it that way, and at the same time provides a surprising comfort in the fact that events actually can, and do, take place for no reason at all. I read the original version of this book in the early 80's (several times since), and what struck me was that Rabbi Kushner was able to reconcile a common Judeo-Christian view of God and causality with a perspective of life that holds a place for randomness and happenstance. Yes! Things happen in life that God has nothing to do with, and there is a way to find peace in accepting this. For those who enjoy contemplating and discussing the purpose of life, faith, and good & bad, you MUST read this book . . . then set aside some more time for thought and conversation. If you've ever experienced the untimely loss of a loved one, or been through any traumatizing life experience, get this book. It is personal, thought-provoking, well-written, and very easy to understand. I am certain you will find comfort. If you're just simply interested in learing about God and the meaning of things in your life from a wonderful man and a great writer, get this book. Without intending to write a best-seller (read his Preface), Rabbi Kushner was able to put into words what I had been trying to figure out (despite loads of "help" from others) concerning God, how we should relate to Him, and what to do about all the things that happen to us during our lives. This book is important; I give it my highest recommendation.
Rating: 
Summary: A sincere and thoughtful book
Review: I must admit, I have not read this book yet, but aim to do so. I heard Mr. Kushner speak about his book on the God Squad and the message of his book .I found it extremely sincere and thoughtful. I think this book would put many people at rest with some of their un-answered question.
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Summary: Don't Blame God--or Yourself!
Review: This gem of a self-help book offers real comfort for those who are wrestling with the eternal dilemma of why disasters--especially the death of a loved one--happen. Sincerely humane
this book suggests how to survive emotionally, once the shock wears off. Most of us are guilty of speaking the typical funeral platitudes which we have heard many times over--in life, on TV and in the movies and books. These are the times that try not only men's souls, but also seem to test our faith. Will this psychological pressure cause us to be crushed by grief and despair, or will it change us into rough diamonds? Kushner has walked down this agonizing road himself; now he shares his insight with all who mourn, regardless of religious persuasion. He assures us that it Is possible to retain belief in a God who "allows" these tragedies to happen. Hopefullyl we will mature spiritually into people of greater compassion than we would have ever expected possible. No book can bring back the deceased, but This one makes it easier to accept the loss, by urging us to honor the beloved, instead of indulging in guilt
or misdirecting our anger. Take heart--be true to the memories of those who now live only in your heart.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most profound books I've ever read
Review: Rabbi Kushner's relections on the existence of evil and the goodness of God was of great help in coming to grips with the loss of our son and our anger at God. This is a book for everyone, but especially for those bearing grief.
Rating: 
Summary: good , but flawed
Review: A good piece of writing but greatly flawed. Rabbi Kushner should have read what other religions have to say about this topic. Kushner writes from the heart but one gets the feeling that he's just desperate to prove that God exists even though He is absolutely powerless. He wants us to love God even though God is incapable of any action - good or bad. But it requires guts to say many things that Kushner has said and I admire him for being brutally frank at times. The whole book can be summarized in 6 sentences: 1) God exists, God is good but he is not omnipotent
2) God is not responsible for the pain and suffering in the world.
3) God cannot prevent suffering but feels our pain with us.
4) Fate/Chance causes pain.
5) Praying will not cure us of our suffering but will give us the strength to bear the pain.
6) So we must believe in Him and pray. God is therefore not the all-powerful figure we assume him to be. He is a powerless, silent spectator to all the pain in this world. It also follows that if God is not responsible for all the bad things that happen, He is also not responsible for all the good things that happen in this world. He is the cause of neither joy nor sorrow. We are the victims of fate- of bad or good luck. It has nothing to do with the kind of people we are. So, why believe in God if he cannot do anything. It is wishful thinking to assume that he provides us with strength. There are many examples of persons breaking down even after praying for strength from God. And don't tell me that they did not pray correctly or sincerely. Our inner strength or lack of it is the combination of many things - the nature of the tragedy, circumstances, our environment, our nature and our attitude among many. Yes, what we should do when in pain is not to ask where this pain came from but to ask what we can do with ourselves now that we have it. This point is expressed very well though Kushner goes totally overboard in his attempt to describe people as "Gods martyrs" or the "Devils martyrs", depending on their reaction to the crisis. This distinction is an attempt at outright emotional blackmail - to instill a fear of the Devil and to force a love of God. So let us come back to the original question - Why do bad things happen to good people? The answer is known to almost anyone who knows the Hindu religion. Hindus believe in the concept of "karma" and "reincarnation". All deeds, all actions - good and bad -- of a person determine his fate in his NEXT birth. What you do now will affect your next life. Good deeds will give you happiness and bad ones will bring you sorrow. Greater the goodness, greater the reward. Greater the bad deeds, greater the punishment. In effect, you sow what you reap but a lifetime later. One also has to remember that a person is not a body. He is a soul. The soul may take various physical forms - of an animal, insect or a human- but it never ceases to be a soul. Therefore the soul is being rewarded or punished for its deeds not the physical body. God has made these laws and will not interfere with their execution. These are immutable and irrevocable. God is therefore also called the "karmaphaladata"- the giver of the fruits of action. If we understand this concept properly, we also understand that God wants us to be good and to do good. It is the right thing to do, not only because it increases our own happiness (remember the inner glow you feel when you do something nice), not only because it makes someone else happy but also because it gives us a chance to lead a happier life in our next birth. It helps us to get a bit closer to God and to ultimately reach a union with Him. It helps us escape this endless cycle of birth and death- "moksha". So bad things happen to us because of our own selves and so do good things. There is no random chance or luck or even God determining our fate. We ourselves are the architects of our own destiny, once we understand the concept of karma. If everyone realizes this and stops being bad and starts being good, a time can ultimately come (in the very distant future) when there is only happiness in this world. Theoretically this is possible but knowing human nature, I guess, it is never going to happen. Let me also say that I have given the briefest, simplest explanation and there is a lot more to this concept. Please also understand that not all effects of actions return in a later life. Some of the effects may be felt in the same life itself. Different actions have different maturity dates. There are also ways of getting rid of these karmic forces but that is an entirely different issue. To anyone interested, I would recommend reading The Bhagavad Gita to understand these concepts in detail.
All this in no way lessens our pain but at least it helps us in understanding the reason for the same. And this can prevent us from breaking down or becoming bitter and frustrated. So, should we believe in God? Yes, in his existence. But if by believing, you mean, should we believe in his ability to help us, the answer sadly is no. Kushner is right in this respect. God will not, God cannot help. I'm sure he feels for us but that's just about as far as He will go. This is a tough decision to make and to each his own. I think one should respect God but not depend on him. As for loving him..... well, its your choice.
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Summary: An honest, probing Reconstructionist examination.
Review: Rabbi Harold Kushner takes a hard look at difficult issues in "When Bad Things Happen to Good People." Written out of his own personal grief and struggle with spirituality, this book is an important and groundbreaking reassessment of what it means to believe in a god and how to reconcile that belief to the cold fact that horrible things happen in this world on a daily basis. This is the fundamental tension of religion, and Kushner approaches it from an original and profound perspective. Kushner is a Reconstructionist Jew and a former student of Reconstructionism's founder, Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan. Reconstructionist Judaism examines spirituality from a metaphorical perspective, seeing God as the impulse in us that brings out our best traits and leads to live honestly and ethically. It does not see God as an all-powerful father figure in the sky, interfering in people's lives and letting things like the Holocaust happen for a "reason." It is, in other words, a religious worldview that takes a more mature, probing approach to divinity than the standard "God controls everything and we cannot understand His ways" religious line. There are numerous precedents for the Reconstructionist view in Jewish history. Thus the negative reviews here from fundamentalist Christians, who believe every word of the Bible literally (though they can't be bothered to actually read it) and are unable to consider the thought of a more abstract god because their entire intellectual and spiritual house of cards would collapse. This sort of "God-is-my-protective-daddy" view inevitably forces people of this mindset into a state of denial, obfuscation, and pretzel logic when they try to explain or defend their faith--even to themselves. "When Bad Things Happen to Good People" is an enormously powerful book which offers a vital glimpse into a more humane and compassionate view of God. I recommend it to everybody.
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