If God Is Good, Why Is The World So Bad? [Paperback]

Benjamin Blech (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 2003

In these troubled times, people are asking very difficult questions about God and their faith:

• If I suffer, does that mean I deserve it?
• Why do innocent people, especially children, die tragically?
• How can God be so cruel?
• Does God ever intervene during times of trouble?
• Who really runs the world-God or man?
• Do my prayers do any good?
• Why does God allow sickness, torture and evil to exist?

Benjamin Blech admits, the answers are not simple. There is no one-size-fits-all explanation. Indeed, not only are there many answers, but in different situations several explanations may apply. Blech wrote this book as an intellectual analysis of Jewish wisdom on the subject of suffering. His theories are the fruit of thousands of years of debate, examination and struggle. Jewish wisdom teaches that there are rich and inspiring answers to the ultimate question: If God is good, why is the world so bad?

Take part in the most important spiritual journey of all-the quest for serenity in the face of adversity-and discover that in the accumulated wisdom of the ages lies a time-tested solution for turning despair into hope and sorrow into faith.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As the title suggests, Blech picks up where Harold Kushner's classic When Bad Things Happen to Good People leaves off, and offers a Jewish corrective to Kushner's view. (For more on Kushner's latest work, see below.) If we believe that we are not at fault for what happens to us, Blech argues, "the feeling that the world is spinning out of control leaves one more frightened than ever." It is this "gloomy anarchistic view" that Blech counters in his "quest for serenity in the face of adversity." Biblical heroes who faced suffering and divine tests-Job, Abraham, Moses among them-serve as models for Blech's questions and answers, which are further enriched by Talmudic and midrashic teachings. Divided into three parts (Why Bad Things Happen to Good People; Why We Die; Why We Suffer), the book addresses prickly and poignant questions like life after death; the death of children; blame and guilt; aging, pain and illness; and faith after the Holocaust. An Orthodox rabbi and the child of Holocaust survivors, Blech offers several perspectives in the hope that each reader will find his or her truth in at least one; all are grounded in his belief that faith holds the answer. We will never be able to fully explain why the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper, he posits; maybe we need the suffering to allow us to mature, change and gain understanding. The bottom line, he stresses, is that "having questions doesn't make you a non-believer. Doubting isn't the same as denying."
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Picks up where Harold Kushner's classic When Bad Things Happen to Good People leaves off..."

(Publishers Weekly )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: Simcha Press (September 8, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0757301231
• ISBN-13: 978-0757301230
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #370,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Answers For All of Us, Jews and Non-Jews Alike, October 16, 2003

By 

James D. Long (Springdale, AR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: If God Is Good, Why Is The World So Bad? (Paperback)

Rabbi Benjamin Blech has already authored a series of books on Judaism best-known for distilling complex subject matter into reader-friendly basics. I found his latest, IF GOD IS SO GOOD WHY IS THE WORLD SO BAD, exhibits that same warm, readable style. And I cannot recall being affected so deeply by a book, often to the point of tears. Though I am not Jewish, the deep insights that Rabbi Blech draws from the Talmud and other traditional Jewish sources are often profound and comforting. These insights have given me a whole new understanding of certain Biblical concepts that have evaded me for so long. Thanks to Blech's book, I now understand why Free Will is so pivotal to the entire equation that we call life. In the past, I've searched in vain through pages of other books attempting to make sense of a God who would allow suffering and death. IF GOD IS SO GOOD makes it clear that such hardships are truly necessary evils. That said, I will not attempt to tackle these heavy themes in a mere review. However, I can recommend the book to everyone, Jew and non-Jew alike. Rabbi Blech's latest should be on everyone's bookshelf. This is a book that will instill a deeper trust in the Creator and offer much-needed solace in difficult times.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A nice perspective on the problem of suffering, March 5, 2005

By 

A. Calabrese "othernj" (NJ--United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: If God Is Good, Why Is The World So Bad? (Paperback)

I heard Rabbi Blech being interviewed on the Christian radio program, The White Horse Inn. His view on suffering intrigued me as I was going through some trying times with illness in our family. Rabbi Blech tries to help the reader come to terms with those times when one feels their prayers are just bouncing back off the ceiling. Most people, I think, have cried out for God and God seems to be on vacation. Rabbi Blech goes on to show the reader how God is always there and why our suffering may or may not be our own doing. Despite our own doubts the author shows that God is always there. This book should be on the shelf of all clergy. And for the lay person, it is a comfort.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Hard Job, Well Done, November 26, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: If God Is Good, Why Is The World So Bad? (Paperback)

I give credit to the Rabbi for trying to answer THE question, If God is good, than why does everyone suffer( only to what degree is the difference) and why does evil seem to triumph so often. Does he succeed?His logical arguments chipped away at some of the doubts I had. But faith without some doubt is akin to a delusion. You will never get rid of all of it and maybe that is the point. For without questions who would buy this book or try to understand the character of God. As I read the book, I mentally argued with the Rabbi from my own life's experience. What I like about the book is that Blech is not an absolutist. there are other options for why we suffer but all within God's love for us. The Rabbi wants us to debate his premises and perhaps find our own answers.