Insightful response to "How could God let such a tragedy occur?"

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A nice extract I found insightful from a devotion by Rabbi Kalman Packouz ...

Tragedies, particularly of this magnitude, often lead people to ask - at least for a fleeting moment - "Where's God in all of this?" "How could God let such a tragedy occur?"

What is fascinating, is that we only ask these questions because we intuitively believe three axioms about the nature of God. God must be: (1) all good, (2) all knowing, and (3) all powerful. If you remove any one of these attributes, the question disappears.

If God isn't all good, He can do evil and even enjoy inflicting pain. Is there any wonder why bad things happen to good people?

If God isn't omniscient, bad things occur because He doesn't know everything that's going on in the world. If He knew about it; He would certainly put a stop to it.

If God isn't omnipotent, bad things happen because there are forces beyond God's control. Diseases and natural disasters are too mighty for God. We can only call God to task for events that are in His hands.

If one believes in an omnipotent Being who is all good and all knowing, then the question "Why do bad things happen to good people?" poses a real challenge.

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