Comments on An Interfaith Event: Why Must I Suffer?

Over the past few weeks I have received many emails and notes about An Interfaith Event: Why Must I Suffer?  I am thankful for the convicted civility demonstrated by the speakers and for an audience who was committed to being humble listeners and willing to learn about others. Below are some of the notes which I have received.

Protestant:
Powerful. Highlighted commonality. We all grow when facing life's greatest obstacles.

Muslim:

The selection of the topic and the presenters was excellent and the experience of each of them was a lesson for all of us to be grateful to Almighty God for the little and the great Blessings that He has bestowed upon all of us and for the trials and tribulations of this life. Thank God for the old friends and the new ones. May God provide all of us with the knowledge and understanding to appreciate each other.

Christ-follower:
This was a precious two hours we had together to discuss the pain of suffering, common to all people, that unites us with each other and with God.

Judaism:
It was a wonderful experience to come together and share our theology and humanity.

Muslim:
We all suffer in the same way, we all have the same feeling, pain, and look to the creator to help us through.

Protestant:
Together for a brief time. Going our separate ways. Knowing we share, but not always remembering that.

Muslim:

This was an excellent event.We were totally spellbound.This kind of event makes us appreciate every single moment, every little thing that we are blessed with.The topic and selection of speakers was excellent.We really enjoyed it. No matter what race, religion, color, ethnicity we belong to, we are all human beings and we all feel pain, suffering, happiness in the same way and we all breath the same air. God bless you and all humanity.

Catholic:
Suffering often triggers the questions, "why?". Why me? Why my friend? Why my child? Why anyone? Getting lost in that question can block us from an awareness of how close God is to us during suffering. "Why God?" is rarely answered and distances us from God. "Be with me" is answered and brings us closer to God. It's always answered. Stop asking "why?".

Evangelical:

Thank you for hosting the series of Interfaith Dialogue events at Canterbury and especially this most recent event focusing on suffering.  I was very impressed by how cordial and respectful the group conducted themselves.  I found their comments and perspectives interesting.

Muslim:
A powerful discussion by representatives of various faiths. An eye-opener in regards to commonalities among faiths. Liked it very much.

Christian:
I attended the Interfaith Event on suffering. It was the first Interfaith Event I have attended. I just wanted to say how impressed I am for someone like you to take time out of your busy schedule to put together an event of that nature. I'm a Christian but found a little something from all the guest speakers to be interesting. My favorite two verses in the Bible come from 1 Peter 4:7-8, " The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins." To me this lets us know as Christians how we should live.

Video of "An Interfaith Event: Why Must I Suffer?"

Once again I would like to thank Dr. Prasad Mantravadi, Arjia Rinpoche, Robert Rogers,  Amani Elhefni, Dr. L. Michael Spath, and Rabbi Mitchell Kornspan for speaking at "An Interfaith Event: Why Must I Suffer?. Lance Clark of LC Media in Fort Wayne filmed the event. As I watched the event I appreciated the willingness of the speakers to let us enter into their lives as they shared their stories of suffering. Using the topic of suffering we were able to learn about other faiths in our community. I also appreciated the honest manner in which the speakers spoke in explaining their faiths. Hopefully as you watch the event you will more fully understand your own faith and also be willing to learn about  others.

Shalom! 

The event has been posted to Youtube in six sections.  

Introduction:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chs8MKSbVMY 
 

Sharing of life stories:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-6u3vUAOiE

Answering the question, why must I suffer?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYnIiCzLKJ4 

From the viewpoint of your faith, what words of hope can we give to those who are suffering?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M7LCLgZE28 

Discussion:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIscIO2Tm1Y&feature=related

Conclusion:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7rB7apX3mo

Questions for Interfaith Event: Why Must I Suffer?

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.

Why Must I Suffer?

The topic has been chosen and the speakers finalized for the next Interfaith Event. The title of the Interfaith Event is “Why Must I Suffer”. The event will be held November 9^th from 7:00-8:30 pm. There are six speakers for the event. The speakers are:

Arjai Rinpoche, Buddhist Monk

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arjia_Rinpoche)

Robert Rogers, Catholic (http://intothedeep.org/)

Dr. Prasad Mantravadi, Hindu, Radiation Oncology Associates, Physician

Amani Elhefni, Muslim, Universal Education Foundation Islamic School,

Principal

L. Michael Spath, Protestant, 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

Rabbi Mitchell Kornspan, Jewish, B'nai Jacob Congregation

The purpose of the Interfaith Events is to learn about other faiths through a common topic or experience. The topic of suffering, which is a universal experience, is dealt with in all religions. I foresee a thought provoking evening. Hopefully you can attend the event.