Three things that we traditionally hold as true, we have
never been able to reconcile: God is all powerful, God is good, Evil is real.
Most Christians cannot let go any one of these concepts, despite the
dissonance. I tried to address this in
my blog post, “Hope in the Midst of Tragedy” where I relied heavily upon Viktor Frankl's words in Man's Search for Meaning.
Kushner takes a helpful and honest look at this dilemma in
his book which has been a classic since it was first published in 1981. It is
certainly important that we take an open and honest look at the questions life
sometimes hurls at us. The tired old
answers such as, “This was God’s will,” or “We can’t understand it now but it
must be for the best,” or “God must have needed your loved one in Heaven,”
simply do not help the one who is suffering the grief of a lost loved one, or
trying to carry on when tragedy strikes.
Sometimes platitudes work more for the one trying to offer something to
say, when in truth, silence and simple presence may be more supportive that words.
It has been years since I read Krushner’s book. Thanks to
Dale Short, it has been brought back to mind. When Bad Things Happen to Good People is a wonderful resource for anyone going through hardship. Many have called it a life changing book. I am glad to be reminded today of Rabbi Kushner’s wisdom.
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