How does one forgive, and what does it mean to forgive? What are the historical precedents of forgiveness in the Christian and Jewish traditions?
Philosopher and author John K. Roth will speak this week on the ethics of forgiveness in relation to the Jewish Holocaust and other genocidal wars since.
Roth is Edward J. Sexton professor emeritus of philosophy and founding director of the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights at Claremont McKenna College.
His lecture, sponsored by the Wood River Jewish Community and Wood River Interfaith Association, will take place at Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church, in Sun Valley, tonight, Aug. 10, at 7 p.m.
The Interfaith Association is made up of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood, Emmanuel Episcopal Church and Light of the Mountains Center.
"My talk will explore the relationships between forgiveness and justice," Roth said in an interview.
He said studying mass atrocities such as the Rwandan genocide of 1994, which resulted in the slaughter of an estimated 800,000 people, provides insight into the process of forgiveness.
"How do people live in the aftermath of that? What is needed to produce reconciliation?" Roth asks.
"We have all needed forgiveness in our lives, and we have all felt the need to grant it to others," he said.
Roth will also address the Wood River Jewish Community at 471 Leadville Ave. N. in Ketchum on Saturday, Aug. 13, at 9:30 a.m.
The topic will be "The Impact of the Holocaust on Jewish-Christian Relations in America."
On Tuesday morning, he will attend a closed meeting of spiritual leaders from the Wood River Interfaith Association.
Tony Evans: tevans@mtexpress.com
Courtesy photo
John K. Roth
