Close

The Problem With Blaming God (Endnotes)

1. We would like to say a word to our Christian brothers and sisters who have handled distressing and difficult times by taking comfort in the belief that everything that happens to us is somehow the will of God. If this is you, our book may at first leave you feeling open and exposed. If so, please persevere and withhold your judgment until you have read the whole book. You will see that not everything that happens to us is the will of God, but the Christian who stands firm in the faith will eventually see that we have a God who turns “lemons into lemonade.” Close

2. Rabbi Harold Kushner, When Bad Things Happen To Good People (Avon Books, New York NY, 1981), pages 9, 12, 14, 19, 24, 26, 27, 40. Close

3. Ibid., pages 9-12. Kushner rightly points out that the argument that “we get what we deserve in this life if we wait long enough” is patently false, because countless people go to their graves without having seen their unfair suffering cease. What he fails to point out is that “long enough” primarily regards life in the age to come, when the justice of God will prevail and, thankfully, the suffering of God’s people will end. At that time, the saved will see God’s justice dealt to the wicked (Matthew 5:11,12; Romans 2:5-11; 2 Thessalonians 1:6,7; 2 Peter 2:1-10). Close

4. Ibid., page 14. Close

5. Ibid., page 18. Close

6. Ibid., page 18. Close

7. Ibid., page 19. The fact is that very few people really do excuse God. Most feel angry, hurt and betrayed. Their tragedy (bad enough by itself) and their anger toward God are then compounded by the guilt they feel for being angry at God. Furthermore, they have no basis to ask God to relieve their suffering. This is how terribly frustrating life can become due to error about God’s Word in regard to evil, sin and suffering. Close

8. Philip Yancey, Disappointment With God (Harper Paperbacks, New York NY, 1991), page 249. Close

9. Kushner, When Bad Things Happen To Good People, page 19. Close

10. Ibid., page 23. Close

11. Ibid., page 24. Close

12. Ibid., pages 24-26. Close

13. Ibid., pages 27,28. Close

14. Ibid., page 29. Close

15. E.G. White, Final War (Inspiration Books, Phoenix AZ, Reprinted 1979), page 70. Close