Pursuit Of Knowledge

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Is the Pursuit of Knowledge Worth it?
For many the pursuit of knowledge is a driving force for progress. Knowledge of the divine; however, is a touchy subject that is pursued by both Elie Wiesel and Harold Kushner. For Kushner, this pursuit is to better understand and help others to understand why bad things happen in the world. For Elie, this was a hobby and even possible occupation. But pursuing knowledge is an essential part of moving forwards.
Kushner seeks to figure out why God allows bad things to happen to people who are good. After reading through the story of Job Kushner came to 3 conclusions, “A. God is all-powerful and causes everything that happens in the world”, “B. God is just and fair, and stands for people getting what they deserve, so that the good prosper and the wicked are punished”, and that “C. Job is a good person” (Kushner 42). Keeping these statement in mind God punished Job, so either Job is bad, God is not fair, or some other power brought disease, famine, and death to Job. But Job is a good person the story says that Job is “a thoroughly good man who never …show more content…

He learned “that every question possessed a power” (Wiesel 5) and to question why things happen. And using the examples of conclusions A and B from Kushner when faced with the Holocaust Elie questioned his faith, “Why should I bless His name? The Eternal, Lord of the Universe, the All-Powerful and Terrible, was silent. What had I to thank Him for?'' (Wiesel 31). Elie chose conclusion B, because no good and just God could possibly sit idly while disease, death and despair surrounded several million people. To some God was hanging “from [the] gallows” (Wiesel 65). God had abandoned them, God no longer existed, God was dead. As hundreds of thousands of people were massacred this is how Elie came to feel. In the end Elie was hindered by his faith. He stopped believing and so his pursuit of knowledge

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