Serving God in the heart of our community since 1881

St Andrew's Church, Taunton

Who Needs God?

by  Rabbi Harold Kushner

Katharine Smith reviews a book which invites its readers “to re-think the role of religion in their lives”.

“Religion is not primarily a set of beliefs, a collection of prayers, or a series of rituals.  Religion is first and foremost a way of seeing.  It can’t change the facts about the world we live in, but it can change the way we see those facts, and that in itself can often make a real difference”.

These are the opening words of Harold Kushner’s chapter entitled “Eyes with which to see the world” and this is really the theme of the whole book.  It’s about the promises religion, or faith, can hold for us and the difference it can make to our lives.

Using the stories and words of people he has known, Kushner addresses a range of questions and issues in ways that I certainly found helpful

. 

He tells of a woman who, in a moment of thoughtless negligence, drove her car having

had a few drinks.  She caused an accident in which a teenage boy was killed.  She calls herself “Forever Guilty” and Kushner invites us to explore with him how faith in God might make it possible for this woman to find some peace of mind.

He talks of people whose faith is tested to the limit and who have to discard their old, inadequate concept of God to find the loving God who is alongside them in their suffering.

He writes about the need to belong to a worshipping faith community and the strengths that can offer (while being honest about its inherent weaknesses).

Harold Kushner’s own faith and compassion, and humour, come through in this book which offers a very good starting point for a new year with its possibilities of new beginnings.

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