There is grace,
and wonder,
on the way.
But they are hard to see,
hard to embrace,
for those compelled
to wander in darkness.
- poem by an anonymous inmate at
Auschwitz, found on a wall there.
Philosophy has been used to explore religion for centuries. But in recent decades, philosophers have been fascinated by one of the oldest concerns known to us - the problem of suffering.
How can we reconcile the fact that there is suffering in the world with the belief that there is a good God? What can we learn about suffering from reflecting on biblical narratives?
Eleonore Stump, a leading thinker on the philosophy of religion, addresses these questions in six thought-provoking lectures, Wandering in Darkness: Narrative and the problem of suffering, which look at suffering and evil in a new light starting this evening, Tuesday, March 11. Professor Iain Torrance, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Divinity, will chair the event, to be held at King's College Conference Centre at 7.00pm.
Professor Eleonore Stump said: "The problem of suffering has generally been taken to be a challenge to religious belief because it seems hard to reconcile the fact that there is suffering in the world with the belief that there is an omniscient, omnipotent, perfectly good God. This problem is a very old one in philosophy; in recent decades, philosophers have discussed it with increasing technical virtuosity. In these lectures, I consider what can be said about the problem if we approach it with a new methodology that lets philosophical examination be broadened and humanised by a consideration of narratives."
The Gifford Lectures aim to "promote and diffuse the study of Natural Theology in the widest sense of the term - in other words, the knowledge of God". Established under the will of Lord Gifford, a Senator of the College of Justice, who died in 1887, theologians and scholars are invited to deliver lectures at the Universities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews. The lectures are free and open to the public. They take place at 7:00pm tonight (March 11) and on 13, 18, 20, 25 and 27 March.