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Description: People gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose Church in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14. In the aftermath of such tragedies, many people ask how a benevolent God and suffering can coexist.
Hints:
Newtown
God
Austin
Texas
John Burnett
Steven Folberg
Rabbi
Congregation Beth Israel
ConnecticutWhen something like Newtown happens, clergy are invariably asked: If God is all-knowing, all-powerful and benevolent, why allow such suffering? There's even a word for it: theodicy. It means justifying God's goodness despite the existence of evil.
From Austin, Texas, NPR's John Burnett caught up with several faith leaders to find out how they do just that.
I met Steven Folberg, senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel here in Austin, on his front porch on a balmy December day. He was asked to please explain the nature of God in light of the slaughter of innocents in Connecticut. No small assignment.
I saw a bumper sticker once that said: God is good, evil is real, and God is all powerful. Pick two. The idea was to say that if one accepts those three propositions as true, then they are logically inconsistent. And how do you wiggle your way out of that issue?
You cannot wiggle your way out, says the Texas rabbi. You have to admit that we live in a world that is, by turns, beautiful and shattered. | 
发表于 2016-8-2 11:34:39