Kushner Why People Suffer Chapter One Analysis

Chapter one begins with a sub title why do people suffer? Stated by Kushner "It is tempting at one level to believe that bad things happen to people (especially other people) because God is a righteous judge who gives them what they deserve. By believing that, we keep the world orderly and understandable”. This raise questions about the goodness, kindness, even the existence of god. This is because most individual are troubled by the unfair distribution of suffering in the world. In the chapter Kushner outlines the various ways that people try to salvage their view of God and His orderly world. They explain that misfortune occurs because; someone made a mistake, or failed in the observance of some religious duty. God has a hidden purpose, or is …show more content…
God's purpose is in the grand design of the Universe (which is good and beautiful), not in the life of the individual. Suffering teaches something, either to us or to those who see us suffer. Suffering is a test. All the responses to tragedy which we have considered have at least one thing in common. They all assume that God is the cause of our suffering, and they try to understand why God would want us to suffer. The second chapter was about a man name Job. Job was a fortunate and pious man. Satan charges that Job is pious only because he is fortunate. To prove a point, God lets Satan take away all that Job has, including his children, and to cover his body with boils. Three friends come to visit Job, and their conversations are the bulk of the book. Job complains that his suffering is an injustice from God. His friends defend the idea that God is just with a variety of arguments, including that Job must have done something to deserve his suffering. Job declares his innocence and challenges God to be his accuser. God appears in a whirlwind and points out that He and Job are not equals. Job is silenced. God then reproves Job's friends and restores Job's health and