© 2024 RadioWest
wildly curious
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Why? God and Tragedy
In the wake of horrific tragedies, you often hear this question: Why? RadioWest is hosting an occasional series of conversations that ask scholars, theologians and philosophers how faith traditions understand the role of God in human life. It's an age-old question - but why does God allow bad things to happen?

Why? Greek Gods, Human Lives

KUER 90.1 | By Doug Fabrizio
Published August 26, 2013 at 5:11 PM MDT
Image by Josep M Marti/Creative Commons via flickr
Poseidón (Pabelló Grecia) - Expo Zaragoza 2008";

The classical scholar Mary Lefkowitz says that modern discussions about why tragedies occur begin with the premise that God is all-present, all-knowing and always good. That's not the way ancient Greeks understood the divine though. It was a world in which suffering was unavoidable, and the gods could be beneficent, hostile or completely uninterested in human affairs. Tuesday, we continue our series on God and tragedy with Lefkowitz, who joins us to explain how unpredictable gods could bring out the best in humanity.

Mary Lefkowitz is Professor Emerita of Classical Studies at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. Among her books is Greek Gods, Human Lives: What We Can Learn from Myths [Indiebound|Amazon]
Tags
Curiosities Why?
Doug Fabrizio
Doug Fabrizio has been reporting for KUER News since 1987, and became News Director in 1993. In 2001, he became host and executive producer of KUER's RadioWest, a one hour conversation/call-in show on KUER 90.1 in Salt Lake City. He has gained a reputation for his thoughtful style. He has interviewed everyone from Isabel Allende to the Dalai Lama, and from Madeleine Albright to Desmond Tutu. His interview skills landed him a spot as a guest host of the national NPR program, "Talk of the Nation." He has won numerous awards for his reporting and for his work with RadioWest and KUED's Utah NOW from such organizations as the Society of Professional Journalists, the Utah Broadcasters Association, the Public Radio News Directors Association and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
See stories by Doug Fabrizio
Related Content