Through a variety of public programming, including creative non-fiction readings, inter-faith dialogues, and lectures on the Holocaust and the Lakota Ghost Dance, among others, the Comparison Project 2012-2013 explored a range of religious explanations of and responses to suffering. On Tuesday, May 7, the Comparison Project will present its final event, “Religious Responses to Suffering: A Comparative Discussion,” at 7 p.m. in Olin Hall, Room 101, 1344 27th Street. This event is free and open to the public.
Three philosophers of religion with varying methodological commitments and religious expertise will draw tentative conclusions about the responses to suffering that have been discussed throughout the year. The philosophers are Bradley Herling, associate professor of religious studies at Marymount Manhattan College; Jin Y. Park, associate professor of philosophy and religion at American University; and John J. Thatamanil, associate professor of theology and world religions at Union Theological Seminary.
Herling is the author of The German Gita: Hermeneutics and Discipline in the German Reception of Indian Thought, 1778-1831. Additionally, he is the co-editor of Deliver Us From Evil an interdisciplinary collection of essays that examines the problem of evil and unwarranted suffering. Herling is currently working on a second edition of his textbook, A Beginner’s Guide to the Study of Religion, which will be published in 2014.
Park is the author and editor of several books including Buddhism and Postmodernity: Zen, Huayan, and the Possibility of Buddhist Postmodern Ethics.
Thatamanil is the author of The Immanent Divine: God, Creation and the Human Predicament (Fortress Press) and is currently working on a book, The Promise of Religious Diversity: Constructive Theology After Religion, that explores the meaning of the category “religion” for interreligious dialogue.
The Comparison Project is sponsored by:
Drake University Humanities Center
Humanities Iowa
The Medbury Fund
Drake University Principal Financial Group Center for Global Citizenship
Des Moines Area Religious Council
Cultivating Compassion: The Richard Deming Foundation
Visit http://comparisonproject.wordpress.drake.edu or email comparisonproject@drake.edu.