Rabbi Harold S. Kushner's work, When Bad Things Happen to Good
             People, was inspired by the suffering he experienced with the tragic death
             of his son, Aaron. He, like many people who experience tragedy and loss,
             especially the loss of a child, experienced a search for meaning and a
             crisis of faith. This is especially interesting, considering the fact that
             Kushner is a Rabbiâ€"and it shows how "bad things" can cause a struggle in
             faith in anyone. He writes that he composed the book for people, like him,
             "â€who have been hurt by life," and now struggle with God as a result.
             Kushner begins his book with a discussion of the universal question,
             "Why do the righteous suffer'" He then provides a summary of the commonly
             quoted "reasons," including punishment, trial (the righteous being
             "tested), suffering as contribution to a "grand design," as an education,
             Kushner then comments on the "story of Job," the archetypal Biblical
             tale quoted in relation to suffering, and concludes that God is not all
             powerful, but, instead is "all good."
             The third chapter deals with indiscriminate suffering, i.e. "wrong
             place at wrong time." And concludes that some things "just happen" for no
             In chapter four, Kushner comments on the fact that good people are
             not exempt from suffering. People don't suffer because of being "bad."
             Instead it is due to "natural law," which is blind.
             The fifth chapter deals with "evil," and the human ability to choose
             it. That some evil committed by people (do to their human choice), can
             result in sufferingâ€"that has nothing to do with God.
             Kushner points out in chapter six that God can only help those who
             help themselves accept or handle their sufferingâ€"that the individual can
             contribute to suffering by their reaction to it.
             Chapter seven asserts that God cannot do ev
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