If God Is Good, Why Is The World So Bad?

Rating:
Summary: Not for the enlightened mind of the 21st century
Review: Blech throws a variety of explanations for the world's apparent injustice at readers (suffering as punishment, suffering as test for spiritual growth, suffering compensated in next world, etc.). None of them are consistently persuasive, and to invoke them selectively proves too much (in that even though one explanation of evil might be logically falsifiable under certain circumstances, four or five alternate explanations are not logically falsifiable as a group, since there will always be a situation where one of them makes sense). Blech is quite deferential (maybe too much so) to every explanation he plucks from traditional Jewish sources.

Blech does not bother to criticize any explanation of misfortune until he discusses the Holocaust- when he finally comes up with the best answer, which is that Divine inactivity in the face of human evil is incomprehensible. The best part of the book is his attack on "divine punishment" explanations of the Holocaust, in which he points out that some Jewish commentators argue that the Holocaust is punishment for Zionism while other equally learned commentators assert that the Holocaust was punishment for inadequate Jewish support of Zionism.

I think this point could have been broadened into an attack on such theology generally: that is, if you treat collective suffering as punishment, there is a virtually unlimited number of sins that could justify divine punishment. Thus, to blame punishment on any specific sin makes no sense. (This is true for individuals as well; but hopefully most individuals' menus of misconduct are relatively finite).

Rating:
Summary: A Hard Job, Well Done
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: This is a great book for teenagers!
Review: I have read this and other books by the same author, and find them all great for strengthening my beliefs. My wife and I thought this is also a great book for teenagers who are beginning to see the outside world for the first time and question their beliefs in a caring God.

Rating:
Summary: Answers For All of Us, Jews and Non-Jews Alike
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring!
Review: The questions stated on the back of the book alone, gave me enough answers to want to read the book. I have always asked "Why?", but I could never even think of the rest of the question. All the "Whys" were too confusing to sort out. Rabbi Blech did that for me, and in the meantime, answered them as well. When trying to explain what I had learned from the book to a friend, I couldn't even summon the words to start, lacking the amazing skills Rabbi Blech seems to posses of taking the most complicated idea and making it as simple as anything, while at the same time making you think. Thank you Rabbi Blech, for a work of art!

Rating:
Summary: Some valuable observations here
Review: There are some valuable observations in this work, and a presentation of various answers given in the Jewish Tradition to the suffering of the world. But the book does not to my taste anyway meet the great question it asks with a sufficient dignity, strength, sublimity , and humility. It does very importantly point out that in the Jewish tradition questioning God is essential. And it does indicate that ultimately the final accounting belongs to G-d.