Five of the six speakers for the Interfaith Event: Why Must I Suffer? were able to attend a meeting yesterday to discuss the event. The speakers for the event are:
Arjia Rinpoche, Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center, Director
Robert Rogers, Mighty in the Land Ministry, Founder
Dr. Prasad Mantravadi, Radiation Oncology Associates, Physician
Amani Elhefni, Universal Education Foundation Islamic School, Principal
Rabbi Mitchell Kornspan, B'nai Jacob Congregation
L. Michael Spath, D.Min., Ph.D.Religious Studies - Department of Philosophy; Peace and Conflict Studies Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne; Indiana Center for Middle East Peace
We started the meeting by sharing our own stories, including where suffering has occurred in our lives. This time of sharing about suffering immediately built a bond among the speakers. Suffering crosses all religious lines, for it is a human experience. After we discussed my vision and purpose of the Interfaith Events we determined the questions to be addressed and the time limits for each question.
Question 1) Share with us how you have known or experienced suffering; being either a personal experience or a professional experience.
Question 2) From the viewpoint of your faith, why do bad things happen to good people? Why must we suffer?
Question 3) From the viewpoint of your faith, how should we respond to those who are suffering? What are words of comfort that we can give to those who are suffering?
Questions for the discussion time:What part of your faith helped you during your suffering? How do I get through my suffering? In religions there is often self-imposed suffering (example: fasting). From the perspective of your religion tell us why this is important for a person's spiritual life? Is it seen as suffering?
We had a wonderful time together. Each person was warm, caring, and has a desire to help others who are suffering. I'm anticipating a great event.
No comments:
Post a Comment