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Speaking of Faith: The Problem of Evil
Speaking of Faith: The Problem of Evil
A Summary
By Tony Minnick
Speaking of Faith ~ The Problem of Evil
Tony Minnick
In this American Public Media program called The Problem of Evil, Krista Tippett explores faith and the problem of evil through multiple experiences; including a Muslim Social Activist, a founder of the Neighbors Who Care, and two Holocaust survivors. The problem of evil was brought to the attention of the American people after the bombings on September 11. With the public making wildly racist comments at Arabs, calling them the epitome of evil, the problem of evil pushed at the faith of many and needed to be tackled. The bombings provided a rock for atheism, questioning how a just and moral God could allow for this to happen. The question of What does it mean to be human? even arose. M. Scott Peck, writer and psychiatrist, defines evil as the force on the inside and outside of humans that seeks to kill life. Peck claims that the evil is not clear in the terrorists motives and decision, but evil is obvious in the fact that the terrorists took lives at random, with no regards to who was killed. Peck has faith that the gift of free will, which separates humans from beasts, is the answer to the problem of evil and that a lot of goodness is possible due to free will. Peck points out that the mystery of goodness is far greater than the mystery of evil. Our faith that people can make the good decisions gives hope in society.
One of the first speakers on the show is Rami Nashashibi, a Muslim Social Activist in America that has taken a stand on the problem of evil. Nashashibi says that you must look inside yourself to find the fairest means. He places a strong faith in his judgments and has a strong conscience because of it. After the bombings on September 11, Nashashibi read the names and pictured the victims of the bombings everyday in the New York Times. He thinks that by putting a face on the victims, he can pay some justice to them and he has faith that his thoughts make a difference.
Another speaker was Lisa Lampman, a member of the Prison Fellowship and founder of the Neighbors Who Care. She researched the grade school shooting of 1998 in Arkansas and tried to understand the problem of evil though witnesses and victims families. The shooting brought pain and fear to the school affiliates and made one girl question Why did this happen?, a question that was left unanswered. Lampman claims that everyone is attracted to evil, but the people with faith in their decisions can help fight the evil. She also talked about the faith we place in people we can picture and relate to. Why is it that we can freely call terrorists evil for murder but it is so very difficult to call the children that committed the shooting evil? We have a false belief that these American children are just misguided, while the terrorist we cant associate with is just evil.
The final guests to speak on the program were Leon Weinstein and his daughter Natalie Gold. Weinstein was a ghetto fighter against Nazis during the Holocaust and he left his daughter to be protected in a polish convent. Both survived this evil and have the strongest faith because of it. Weinstein claims that he never once lost his faith during his struggle. He always had Faith that God was helping him to stay alive and tell his story. He has Faith that we are all Gods partners in making the world a better place. We cannot blame our decisions on God, claiming that the gift of free will is at the fault of God if the negative decision is chosen. God can exist and evil exist as well because God gave us free will to decide if we will commit natural and moral evils.
Listen for yourself:
Speaking of Faith with Krista Tippett
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