Twilight In The Garden of Good and Evil;
   Theodicy, 9/11 and Katrina
             

September 11 2005 ,11AM, Lakeshore Interfaith Institute 6676 122nd Ave Ganges Mi 49408
          Swami Tapasananda of Mother's Trust  and Bin Lim of Alliance for Racial and Cultural Harmony and You
 

Theodicy " the attempted vindication of divine providence in view of evil in the world"
   Twilight "[fig.] state of imperfect knowledge, understanding"
 To explain how the Absolute or  God, the Supremely Good One,  can create, and allow to exist, a world, wherein, amoungst much good, so much evil is also to be found, has been a thorn sticking in the throats of theologians of all religions throughout the ages. Various explanations for this contradiction have been offered, such as Original Sin, Satan, and Karma and Ignorance All  these initially promising explanations, ultimately seem ridden with serious flaws.Is there really any answer?

Hindu thinkers, from Vedic times, attribute evil to be, insofar as it is within the web of repeated birth and death, a consequence of Karma[human actions].Its ultimate cause is ignorance and its final cure is knowledge. The web of repeated rebirth can be transcended through intense spiritual practice whereupon evil is seen to be, and to have been, an illusion;  the soul merges into pure blissful Being- or oneness with God.

Buddhism, in a similar vein, considers all evil as self-caused and inescapable -but only within the realm of mundane existence.It begins in primal ignorance and it ends with Nirvana. The same pure and good thoughts and actions that eliminate evil also allow one to transcend mundane existence and attain Nirvana which, though beyond word and thought, is a consumation devoutly to be wished.

In the Jewish  tradition, the Book of Job is the original classic setting for questions about evil. Many feel that  Job's questions to God about the justice of evil remain unanswered; but Job remains true to his faith in YAWEH. Faith goes in search of understanding-- but faith does not require understanding. Holocaust survivor and author, Elie Wiesel, winner of the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize has created the enigmatic and powerful play The Trial of God on this theme. Jewish Kabbalah has offered explanations and solutions to the problem of evilthat are very parallel to those of Hinduism.

St. Augustine, Martin Luther and John Calvin, resort to the Original Sinfulness of Man, consequent upon Adam's Freely Chosen Fall, to explain how God's perfect work is spoilt not by God, but by man.  Christian  mystics like Meister Ekhart [11th Century] also talks about the solution to evil through transcendance and non-duality. 

Swami Tapasananda and Bin Lim will discuss some of these relevant ideas and then moderate an open meeting on this most difficult yet crucial topic.
 At noon,  Rev. Leah Simontal will lead an  Interfaith Worship utilizing music, prayer and  scripture from several world religious traditions.
  At 1pm a veggie lunch is offered 

  At 2pm the Zen Buddhist film Why Has Bodhi Dharma Left for the East ? will be shown. This film by  Korean  filmmaker BaeYong-kyun was voted one of the best films of all time by three film polls.