Podcasts about soulmaking

In this episode, we delve into the transformative work of Kate Feigen, a dedicated leader at the Prison Monastery, where she helps incarcerated individuals cultivate more intentional and meaningful lives. Through their program, The Art of Soulmaking, Kate and her team guide those behind bars on a journey of self-discovery, spiritual growth, and personal liberation. By fostering an environment of mindfulness and purpose, The Art of Soulmaking empowers individuals to break free from cycles of incarceration and find inner peace, regardless of their circumstances. Kate's work not only transforms lives within prison walls but also creates a ripple effect, inspiring and healing communities on the outside. Join us as we explore Kate's inspiring mission to bring hope, healing, and intentional living to those most in need, and the broader impact it has on society.

Continuing our Rising Resilient series of interviews with amazing women entrepreneurs', today we have the pleasure of the insightful Christina Becker in the guest hotseat exploring soul making as a spiritual practice. As well as an astute non-profit advocate, and consultant, trainer, and founder of the Canadian Non-Profit Academy, Christina is a renowned Jungian psychoanalyst and author, known for her expertise in guiding individuals through the complexities of personal and spiritual growth. In this conversation, we explore the essence of soulful resilience through Christina's lens of Jungian psychology as well as her personal experiences. Christina shares her journey of “soul making” and where the phrase originates, as detailed in her upcoming book, "Soul Making: A Journey of Resilience and Spiritual Rediscovery." We discuss how resilience is not just about bouncing back, but about transforming challenges into personal meaning, empowerment, and growth.  Highlights from our conversation include: The profound impact of Jungian psychology on understanding and cultivating resilience. Christina's personal story of navigating significant life challenges, including her brother's mental illness and her father's battle with cancer. The role of intuition and spiritual practices in fostering resilience and finding meaning amidst suffering. Practical advice on how to begin your own journey of soul-making and discovering your authentic self. The importance of asking empowering questions and shifting perspectives to overcome obstacles and embrace personal growth. Christina also shares insights from her private practice, including the power of dream work and how aligning with one's true purpose can lead to a more fulfilling and resilient life. Join us as we uncover the layers of resilience and discover how to rise resiliently with Christina Becker. Whether you're an entrepreneur facing the pressures of business or someone seeking deeper personal understanding, this episode offers valuable wisdom and inspiration.  Tune in now and embark on your own journey of soul-making and spiritual rediscovery. To read and learn more about Christina's work, read this interview as an article, visit episode shownote at: https://jayallyson.com/podcast/soul-making-journeys-christina-becker/.

Tasshin talks with Cheryl Hsu (@cherylshoe) about art, collective fields, imaginal practice, Soulmaking, God, and more. Cheryl on X Website You can sign up for Tasshin's newsletter here. If you enjoyed this episode, consider supporting Tasshin and the Reach Truth Podcast on Patreon.

On episode 233, Sabrina and Karla discuss their visions of soul through evolutionary astrology and embodiment, and speak again to peak experience leading up to ECSTASIS, a Dionysian Mythopoetic Ritual Experience in Crete, Greece June 21-25, 2023!ECSTASISSee this talk on YouTubeKarla's IG & my IG (beware of impersonator scams from profiles with slightly altered usernames)Evolutionary Fusion readings with Sabrina✨

In this episode, we explore the challenge of thinking wholesome, genuinely useful, and novel thoughts about how to build paradise. Most of the "visions of paradise" we find in our culture, media, and art are projections of implicit aesthetics used for human coordination, rather than deeply thought-out and high-dimensional perspectives truly meant to elevate our understanding and inspire us to investigate the Mystery of reality. Aesthetics tend to put the cart before the horse: they tacitly come with a sense of what is good and what is real. Aesthetics are fast, parallel, and collective ways of judging the goodness or badness of images, ideas, and archetypes. To disentangle ourselves from tacit low-dimensional aesthetics, and inspired by the work of Rob Burbea (cf. Soulmaking), we go over what aesthetics consist of: Eros, Psyche, and Logos. Then, to explore high-quality aesthetics relevant to paradise engineering, we go over 7 camps of a hypothetical "Superhappiness Festival", each representing a different advanced aesthetic: Hedonism, Psychiatry, Wholesome, Paleo, Energy, Self-Organization, and Paradise Engineering.

October 5, 2022 — Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall suspended a “prison monastery” program at the jail on Monday afternoon amid revelations that Unconditional Freedom, the organization running the program, was linked to OneTaste, a company intimately connected to the Institute of OM, which touts the supposed neurological and spiritual benefits of an expensive clitoral stimulation technique called Orgasmic Meditation, or OM. The Institute of OM Foundation, which generates white papers and studies on the practice, claimed in a press release to have raised over $2 million “to support rigorous, peer-reviewed scientific research into partnered stimulation and the physiological and psychological effects of Orgasmic Meditation ("OM").” Kendall was concerned that inmates would be vulnerable to exploitation through the so-called spiritual curriculum, which revolved around a self-published book called “The Art of Soulmaking,” by OneTaste founder Nicole Daedone.The program included a penpal component with mystery address labels and unknown correspondents. One of the Unconditional Freedom volunteers also worked at Juvenile Hall, though he was never alone with inmates, and the curriculum was not in use among the minors. A Bloomberg piece from 2018 reported former OneTaste members' allegations that the company pressured its sales team to work long hours selling seats at OneTaste events, often to pay off staggering debts they themselves had incurred to receive higher and higher levels of certification in “the practice,” which consists of one person stroking a woman's clitoris for exactly 15 minutes, often in a group setting. And in 2020, the BBC released a ten-part podcast called the “Orgasm Cult,” which interviewed subject matter experts and chronicled the experiences of people who claimed that the organization engaged in abusive and controlling practices to make money from sex. An attorney for Unconditional Freedom insisted that there is no legal connection between OneTaste and Unconditional Freedom, though they share key personnel, a website, and a mailing address According to OneTaste's website, which went live this year, there does seem to be some kind of relationship between the service organization and a company that's been dogged by reports of financially and sexually exploitive practices. Numerous professional profiles and advertisements for past OneTaste events identify eight current or former OneTaste personnel among the Unconditional Freedom volunteers who appear in months-long correspondence between Kate Feigin, the inmate services coordinator for the Mendocino County jail, and the organization's leadership. (The connection between Unconditional Freedom and OneTaste was initially reported last year by B.T. Linhden.) Unconditional Freedom shares an EIN (Employer Identification Number, issued by the IRS to track business tax reporting), with another organization the OneTaste Foundation. The Foundation is legally distinct from OneTaste, though intimately connected with it. A 2014 press release issued by OneTaste for an event called an “Orgasmic Meditation Xperience” in San Francisco states that, All proceeds from ticket sales will go to the OneTaste Foundation, which exists to convert trauma into triumph through the practices of narrative therapy and Orgasmic Meditation. It aims to advance an innovative method of holistic reconciliation which serves to liberate both victims and perpetrators from debilitating, negative narratives.” Until a few days ago, the OneTaste website featured a photograph of a Mendocino County jail inmate whom we were able to identify by distinctive tattoos that were visible in photographs Feigin attached to an email she sent to Marcus Ratnathicam, the Executive Director of Unconditional Freedom and a former coach at OneTaste. The picture was replaced shortly after we started asking questions. Visitors to the OneTaste website, which features highly sexual content, can quickly follow a series of links to the Unconditional Freedom website, where they can still view images of inmates and video testimonies by a variety of participants identified as “Builders of the monastery.” We spoke with Unconditional Freedom attorney Caren Callahan about how the program measures the success of the program with inmates. She did not know how much public money it saves. The eight-week curriculum includes brief before-and-after surveys, where inmates self-report a 24% reduction in depression, 23% less use of drugs and alcohol (which they are not supposed to have in the jail anyway), and 16% less anger. Objective measurements like recidivism and post-release employment, housing, and sobriety were not immediately available. Kendall had some rough metrics. He said Unconditional Freedom's garden program alone saved the jail $10,000 in food costs last year. “And it's going to be more this year, because prices of things have gone up,” he predicted. The jail is also working to gather data on inmates who have gone through the Art of Soulmaking curriculum, versus those who have not. “We're trying to put together some data on that, but you have to understand, that's going to take probably another year before we get enough history in the rear view mirror before we can say if this is really working,” he said. Inmate Services Coordinator Kate Feigin said the curriculum does include making connections with the outside world. “Part of the Art of Soulmaking is that you connect with a mentor on the outside of jail, and they write letters back and forth with the incarcerated person, and they go through the lessons in the workbook with them, to help them deepen the lessons that they're learning,” she explained. We discovered when we looked at one of the inmate Art of Soulmaking packets which contained two envelopes with mailing stickers to an addressee. Inmates receive instructions informing them that removing the stickers “will constitute immediate removal from the program.” When we removed the sticker, we found another label underneath–this one to the address shared by OneTaste, Unconditional Freedom, and the Institute of OM, which offers intimacy training packages for upwards of $500, claiming that studies show that “OM has been shown to produce mystical experiences on par with the second highest dose of psilocybin.” The penpal program was a concern for Kendall, as he considered the jail's relationship with Unconditional Freedom over the weekend. “Number one, is there any issue with this OneTaste program?” he asked. “And then secondly, are the inmates staying in contact with these folks after they get out?” Both Kendall and Chief Probation Officer Izen Locateli, who runs Juvenile Hall, said they never had complaints about any of the Unconditional Freedom volunteers in their institutions. Locateli welcomed the help after he cut back on staff. “A while back, our staffing was reduced, when the county had conversations about closing Juvenile Hall, and to keep it open, we had to have less staff,” he explained. “So we used more community-based organizations or non-governmental organizations, and volunteers, to do some of the work we used to do. Which includes the Unconditional Freedom Project working in our garden on a volunteer basis,” starting a little over a year ago. The garden is closed until security protocols can be improved after two inmates escaped briefly over the weekend, but Locateli said the volunteer, a high-level trainer in OneTaste techniques, will not return when the garden re-opens. Locateli said Juvenile Hall only uses evidence-based curriculum, and that The Art of Soulmaking program was not in use at the facility. He emphasized that volunteers are never alone with the underage inmates. He hopes to continue the gardening project with a paid contractor. “Growing up in this community, and not wanting to bring any type of perception issues and having a vulnerable population, I think it would be best to do some type of RFP (request for proposals from would-be government contractors) to bring in a variety of different people, and make a selection process that's very transparent and open,” he concluded. On Monday afternoon, Kendall spoke with Ratnathicam, the Executive Director of Unconditional Freedom. He said he wasn't much more successful than we were at getting information. “Marcus said that he had previously worked for OneTaste, and that he was very proud of the work that they had done,” he reported. “I said, there are some things that went on there that simply shocked my conscience. And he said the reporting made it very shocking to people. And so I very bluntly asked him…if there was some type of group masturbation going on. And he simply went into the science behind things and did not answer.” Kendall suspended Unconditional Freedom programming at the jail on Monday, though he plans to continue looking into the situation. The same night, he said, “If it doesn't meet my morals and values for my family, it's not good enough for the inmate population. And I'm sorry. From what I've seen so far, the work that the Unconditional Freedom Project did, I'm thrilled with it. I thought they were good, professional people. However, if the foundation of this is OneTaste, I am not okay with that. And it will not continue.”

Psalm 19v7-11 The psalmist says that the Bible is good for:Refreshing the soulMaking wise the simpleGiving joy to the heartGiving light to the eyes. However, it was written so long ago, many people find it a challenge to read. In this talk, Tim Dobson looks at how we can read and understand the Bible today, and the importance of doing so.

In this episode fellow Monastic Academy resident Ellen McSweeney and I explore the relationship between Circling and Soulmaking in an attempt to make sense of the experience we shared co-facilitating the Anti-Fragile Heart retreat in March. Towards the end there is a Q+A with retreat participants. If you'd like to explore the practice of Circling MAPLE is hosting the SAS 6-month Circling Training starting in June. This conversation was recorded in the meditation hall at the Monastic Academy, and the audio is a little wonky... --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/emerge/support

In today's episode I discuss a quote by Jungian scholar David Miller,  "A journey into hell is a ‘descent into the imaginal 'and hence it is actually ‘the ascent of the soul,' providing the ego, ‘a perspective from a soulful point of view." I unpack what this means as I approach my work bridging traditional Apollonian, rational scientific approaches to psychology, with more Hermetic, nuanced approaches to psychology. To find more info on Born to Heal, head here: https://www.drdaniellemcginnis.com/born-to-heal To join my free community, head to https://dr-danielle-mcginnis.mn.co/share/ To follow me on social media, head to @drdaniellemcginnis To find my website, head to www.drdaniellemcginnis.com   Be sure to rate, review, and share the show with those who you feel like would enjoy the show! Thanks for listening!

Why Is the Universe Smiling? The word miracle is rooted in a Sanskrit syllable smi, from which we get the English word smile. So a miracle refers to a smile induced by certain sensations of awe, beauty, and wonder. Humans have always had extraordinary experiences, often called miracles.  An account of reported miraculous phenomena, Smile of the Universe takes us beyond conventional religion and science to explore the outer reaches of human potential. Grounded in true stories and matters of fact, Michael Grosso argues for the reality of a great Mind and for the human ability to communicate with that Mind. In an age of disbelief, it presents a fact-based template for experimental spirituality and makes the case that every one of us, rightly understood, is a smile of the universe.    Michael Grosso obtained his Ph.D. in philosophy from Columbia University and has taught philosophy and the humanities at New Jersey City University, City University of New York, and elsewhere.  An artist and independent scholar, he divides his time between consciousness research, miracle hunting, and painting. Among his many books are The Man Who Could Fly: St. Joseph of Copertino and the Mystery of Levitation,  Experiencing the Next World Now, and Soulmaking.   

For this episode of Into the Stream I'm joined by Catherine McGee, an esteemed Insight Meditation teacher who has had a profound impact on my own practice when it all felt a bit bland, muddy, and robotic.Catherine's gentle, soulful, and down-to-earth teaching inspired me to value qualities of the heart that I previously perceived as a bit far-fetched. Qualities such as soulfulness, devotion, richness, and beauty have all become surprisingly important to me because of Catherine's work and I'm deeply grateful to her for that.Just a heads up, this episode is will be especially appreciated by those with extensive meditation practice - we use quite a lot of Buddhist lingo here. Catherine's wisdom really shines through here (and even shines through the intermittent audio quirks). We explore:Her first (20-day) silent meditation retreat that kickstarted her pathSubtle practice pathologies in young idealistic meditatorsThe Diamond Approach and how to work skilfully with being an arse in daily lifeWays of relating to the body that hold meditators backHer views on AwakeningAnd how to keep love for the path alive over multiple decades.Catherine's BiographyCatherine has been teaching Insight Meditation at Gaia House and internationally since 1997. Her teaching emphasises working with perceptions of the body on the path of awakening and in the healing of the individual and collective crises of our times. She's an advisor to One Earth Sangha, a long term student of the Diamond Approach, and between 2014 and 2020 she collaborated with Rob Burbea in shaping and teaching a Soulmaking Dharma.Some ResourcesYou can listen to recordings from Catherine's retreats freely available online. Here's two: Finding True Refuge in a Modern World and Abiding with a Heart Imbued with Love.You can also listen to Catherine on other podcasts. Two episodes that are specifically good are Deconstructing Yourself's Soulmaking Dharma and Emerge's  Soulmaking in Climate Collapse.If you want to stay updated with future episodes (released every fortnight on Mondays), then click subscribe, follow (on Instagram) , or sign up to the newsletter.The podcast's music is Good Morning by Bonaparte and Acid Pauli, who kindly gave permission for use.

Host Michael Taft speaks with meditation teacher Catherine McGee about Soulmaking Dharma; her journey into meditation practice; using the word “soul” in a Buddhist context; working with the energy body; connecting with the imaginal in meditation; what sort of person thrives in the Soulmaking Dharma practice; and expanding beauty and sacredness in our lives. CATHERINE McGEE has been teaching Insight Meditation at Gaia House and internationally since 1997. Her teaching emphasises working with perceptions of the body on the path of awakening and in the healing of the individual and collective crises of our times. She is an advisor to One Earth Sangha and a long term student of the Diamond Approach and collaborated with Rob Burbea in shaping and teaching a Soulmaking Dharma. Listen to Catherine McGee on DharmaseedYou can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.

A movement with life force; not away from it. The sutric fantasy of ascetic; never settling; or connecting - has run out. There is a movement to enchantment; to aliveness; Soulmaking and soul expression

Decisions on path: leaving mindfulness, following heart. Soulmaking, Dao, Ways of looking, and some ridhwan

A gift from the wood element - can we receive it fully

First build/accumulate basic resources so you survive. Second train discernment. Then build skills of mind body like a Jaguar. Then hunt and find your Redwood Grove (city, country). Ideally here you build your palace (meaning room, spiritual play space) where you indulge in Soulmaking. Being close to sea, sky, sun, woods, and fresh air. Investing in building survival resources and building skills of mind-body is the beginning. And eventually everything you do can be soul expression, creativity, vitality, self expression. Love. Passion. Eros.

My guest today is Catherine McGee. Catherine has been teaching Insight Meditation retreats internationally since 1999, and since 2014 has been collaborating with Rob Burbea in shaping and teaching the Soulmaking Dharma. In this conversation we explore how the Soulmaking Dharma can open up our relationship to the topic of collapse and possible human extinction. We talk about Catherine's experience participating in the Extinction Rebellion through the lens of the Soulmaking Dharma, the weaving together of justice and soul and beauty in a time of crisis, the eros-psyche-logos dynamic, the difference between suffering (dukkha) in the classical Buddhist context and in the Soulmaking Dharma, and the possibility of enchanting catastrophe. Catherine McGee : Key Ideas of a Soulmaking Dharma (Part 1 - The Why and What) - https://dharmaseed.org/talks/audio_player/41/51516.html Catherine McGee : Key Ideas of a Soulmaking Dharma (Part 2 - The Eros-Psyche-Logos Dynamic) - https://dharmaseed.org/talks/audio_player/41/51517.html Soulmaking Dharma Email List - http://www.soulmakingdharma.net Monastic Academy Circling Intensive - https://eventbrite.com/e/circling-social-meditation-retreat-july-19-25-2019-tickets-60579783764 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/emerge/support

In this episode, I invite my good and very interesting friend Stephen Carter to share some of his deep wisdom about the effect that stories have on us. So often we feel like we are writing and living out our own story—whether it be religious, familial, communal, or many others—when, according to Stephen, it is actually stories living us. It’s an interesting and fruitful angle to try to think from and within, and especially so for Latter-day Saints and others from different traditions who are finding the story that they had been caught up in and experiencing the world through no longer matches our deepest desires, or even has become harmful. As Stephen and I frame our discussion, we note how difficult it is to want to explore new stories or ways of thinking, believing, or acting. Our brains are wired to prefer the familiar more than the foreign, and routine over novelty. Yet, it is only by pushing past our initial aversion to real changes that we can grow. We point out how our religious (and even academic, scientific, historical, et al) traditions prefer stories that “confirm” previously held notions over those that place us in a tension that forces us to really think, struggle, and change even though a group’s highest ideals say our primary task in life is to progress along a Godward path. I learned a lot from and am mulling over many things that come up in this podcast, especially related to my own spiritual path and how I might be keeping myself from new vistas and experiences because of how I stubbornly hold onto particular ideas conveyed in my story. Should you listen, I believe you will also be drawn into an inner dialogue of this sort. Luckily, by now we know that these wrestles, though challenging, are ultimately very important, and even delicious.

Personal Myth-making, Soul-making, Duality and our Interconnectedness to Oneness is explored by Dr/Professor Robert Atkinson.

Personal Myth-making, Soul-making, Duality and our Interconnectedness to Oneness is explored by Dr/Professor Robert Atkinson.

In this conversation with meditation teacher and author Rob Burbea we discuss the role of fantasy in meditation, the purpose of what Rob calls the 'Soulmaking Dharma' and some common traps that can obstruct our connection with beauty on the contemplative path. This was the first conversation I had with Rob (there are two more you can listen to in the Emerge podcast stream). For various reasons I decided not to release it immediately after we recorded it, feeling that the subsequent conversations did a better job of communicating what I wanted to communicate. There were also some nasty recording problems that made it difficult at times for the conversation to be fluid and flowing. In any case this is a lovely coversation and I hope you enjoy!

In this episode host Michael Taft speaks with Rob Burbea about Rob’s book, Seeing That Frees, the power of perception (ways of seeing), his creative methods of working with meditation practice, meditating with a more analytical vs more phenomenological focus, how analytical meditation works, Rob’s “soulmaking dharma,” the emptiness of conceptual frameworks, facing the end of life, and the meaning of emptiness.Rob Burbea is a meditation teacher, musician, author, who teaches at Gaia House in Devon, England. Rob is the author of the groundbreaking meditation practice book entitled, Seeing That Frees: Meditations on Emptiness and Dependent Arising. Rob and Michael discuss it at length in this episode.Seeing that Frees on AmazonShow Notes0:24 – Introduction1:49 – Seeing That Frees, the idea of ways of looking that are liberating4:34 – Example of the classical Buddhist anattā way of looking, unhooking identification, and moving towards less fabrication of perception14:14 – Rob’s teachers and how his creative meditative exploration unfolded22:57 – Following the lead of beauty and the sense of liberation into new territory27:01 – What is emptiness?35:10 – An example of analytical meditation on time and its effect on the fading of perception41:38 – Soulmaking, skillful fabrication, and broadening the scope of the purpose of meditation beyond just the release of obvious suffering44:55 – Working with soulmaking and images that are intrapsychic or in the world of material objects, contextualizing these practices, and parallels with meta-rationality48:54 – Gauging the progress of insight into emptiness through palpable senses of relief and release and senses of perception opening up in wondrous and beautiful ways53:12 – On a personal journey of soulmaking through health crises and the possibility of dying1:01:12 – OutroSupport the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.

The Jungian commentator James Hillman suggested that ‘soul’ needs nurturing as well as ‘spirit’ in human life. Our FBA Podcast , “Poetry, Soulmaking and Meditation,” Paramananda uses deeply meaningful poems to show soulmaking in action, and explains how the process can be brought into your meditation practice.

One of the most prominent and difficult issues in philosophy of religion addresses the dilemma that arises when one asserts the existence of an all-powerful God who is also perfectly loving, while also asserting the presence of genuine evil in the world. As David Hume puts the case: "Either God would remove evil out of this world, and cannot; or He can, and will not; or, He has not the power nor will; or, lastly He has both the power and will. If He has the will, and not the power, this shows weakness, which is contrary to the nature of God. If He has the power, and not the will it is malignity, and this is no less contrary to His nature. If He is neither able nor willing, He is both impotent and malignant, and consequently cannot be God. If he is both willing and able (which alone is consonant to the nature of God), whence comes evil, or why does he not prevent it?" There have been many attempts to address this dilemma, ranging from denial of the logical problem that seems apparent when trying to hold to all three assertions, to giving reasons for God allowing evil for some larger goods: because love requires free will, which opens the door to the possibility of us choosing evil, or because the presence of evil creates ideal conditions for "soul making," our proving ourselves through how we respond to it. Outside of classical theism and the three assertions, one finds other approaches to evil, including its denial--the claim that it only appears to be evil because we have a limited perspective (e.g., St. Augustine, Buddhism)--a denial of God’s goodness (e.g., protest theology, theistic dualism), or the denial of God’s omnipotence (e.g., process theology, LDS metaphysical positions suggested in some of Joseph Smith’s writings). Evil is far more than a philosophical problem, however. Most people care more about the suffering associated with evils, and their concern is to find meaning in what they or others are experiencing. A nice, clean "defense" (theodicy) of the God of classical theism is of little interest to them, as such answers are of no help to a torture victim or a teenager sold into sexual slavery. The matter then becomes finding the best response to evil and its attendant suffering. How do I best serve others who are in pain? How do I act powerfully in the face of my own afflictions? What role, if any, has God played in bringing this trial to me, or is God a fellow sufferer with me, ready to offer comfort and guide me to important lessons and eventual peace? And many more. In this three-part episode, Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon and panelists Jennifer Finlayson-Fife, Jim McLachlan, and Loyd Ericson address these and many other issues related to the problem of evil and suffering. Part 1 focuses on the classical philosophical problem and defenses. Part 2 move more directly into LDS approaches to the subject, including a distinction between LDS "discourse" about evil (which follows closely what one finds in most other theistic traditions) and LDS "theology" about evil and suffering derived from Joseph Smith’s rejection of classical theism, as well as fascinating scriptural passages. Part 2 and Part 3 also directly address suffering, including powerful tire-meets-the-road stories of people in intense pain and which ideas and approaches to thinking about evil often exacerbate their suffering versus the ones that are more helpful.

One of the most prominent and difficult issues in philosophy of religion addresses the dilemma that arises when one asserts the existence of an all-powerful God who is also perfectly loving, while also asserting the presence of genuine evil in the world. As David Hume puts the case: "Either God would remove evil out of this world, and cannot; or He can, and will not; or, He has not the power nor will; or, lastly He has both the power and will. If He has the will, and not the power, this shows weakness, which is contrary to the nature of God. If He has the power, and not the will it is malignity, and this is no less contrary to His nature. If He is neither able nor willing, He is both impotent and malignant, and consequently cannot be God. If he is both willing and able (which alone is consonant to the nature of God), whence comes evil, or why does he not prevent it?" There have been many attempts to address this dilemma, ranging from denial of the logical problem that seems apparent when trying to hold to all three assertions, to giving reasons for God allowing evil for some larger goods: because love requires free will, which opens the door to the possibility of us choosing evil, or because the presence of evil creates ideal conditions for "soul making," our proving ourselves through how we respond to it. Outside of classical theism and the three assertions, one finds other approaches to evil, including its denial--the claim that it only appears to be evil because we have a limited perspective (e.g., St. Augustine, Buddhism)--a denial of God’s goodness (e.g., protest theology, theistic dualism), or the denial of God’s omnipotence (e.g., process theology, LDS metaphysical positions suggested in some of Joseph Smith’s writings). Evil is far more than a philosophical problem, however. Most people care more about the suffering associated with evils, and their concern is to find meaning in what they or others are experiencing. A nice, clean "defense" (theodicy) of the God of classical theism is of little interest to them, as such answers are of no help to a torture victim or a teenager sold into sexual slavery. The matter then becomes finding the best response to evil and its attendant suffering. How do I best serve others who are in pain? How do I act powerfully in the face of my own afflictions? What role, if any, has God played in bringing this trial to me, or is God a fellow sufferer with me, ready to offer comfort and guide me to important lessons and eventual peace? And many more. In this three-part episode, Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon and panelists Jennifer Finlayson-Fife, Jim McLachlan, and Loyd Ericson address these and many other issues related to the problem of evil and suffering. Part 1 focuses on the classical philosophical problem and defenses. Part 2 move more directly into LDS approaches to the subject, including a distinction between LDS "discourse" about evil (which follows closely what one finds in most other theistic traditions) and LDS "theology" about evil and suffering derived from Joseph Smith’s rejection of classical theism, as well as fascinating scriptural passages. Part 2 and Part 3 also directly address suffering, including powerful tire-meets-the-road stories of people in intense pain and which ideas and approaches to thinking about evil often exacerbate their suffering versus the ones that are more helpful.

One of the most prominent and difficult issues in philosophy of religion addresses the dilemma that arises when one asserts the existence of an all-powerful God who is also perfectly loving, while also asserting the presence of genuine evil in the world. As David Hume puts the case: "Either God would remove evil out of this world, and cannot; or He can, and will not; or, He has not the power nor will; or, lastly He has both the power and will. If He has the will, and not the power, this shows weakness, which is contrary to the nature of God. If He has the power, and not the will it is malignity, and this is no less contrary to His nature. If He is neither able nor willing, He is both impotent and malignant, and consequently cannot be God. If he is both willing and able (which alone is consonant to the nature of God), whence comes evil, or why does he not prevent it?" There have been many attempts to address this dilemma, ranging from denial of the logical problem that seems apparent when trying to hold to all three assertions, to giving reasons for God allowing evil for some larger goods: because love requires free will, which opens the door to the possibility of us choosing evil, or because the presence of evil creates ideal conditions for "soul making," our proving ourselves through how we respond to it. Outside of classical theism and the three assertions, one finds other approaches to evil, including its denial--the claim that it only appears to be evil because we have a limited perspective (e.g., St. Augustine, Buddhism)--a denial of God’s goodness (e.g., protest theology, theistic dualism), or the denial of God’s omnipotence (e.g., process theology, LDS metaphysical positions suggested in some of Joseph Smith’s writings). Evil is far more than a philosophical problem, however. Most people care more about the suffering associated with evils, and their concern is to find meaning in what they or others are experiencing. A nice, clean "defense" (theodicy) of the God of classical theism is of little interest to them, as such answers are of no help to a torture victim or a teenager sold into sexual slavery. The matter then becomes finding the best response to evil and its attendant suffering. How do I best serve others who are in pain? How do I act powerfully in the face of my own afflictions? What role, if any, has God played in bringing this trial to me, or is God a fellow sufferer with me, ready to offer comfort and guide me to important lessons and eventual peace? And many more. In this three-part episode, Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon and panelists Jennifer Finlayson-Fife, Jim McLachlan, and Loyd Ericson address these and many other issues related to the problem of evil and suffering. Part 1 focuses on the classical philosophical problem and defenses. Part 2 move more directly into LDS approaches to the subject, including a distinction between LDS "discourse" about evil (which follows closely what one finds in most other theistic traditions) and LDS "theology" about evil and suffering derived from Joseph Smith’s rejection of classical theism, as well as fascinating scriptural passages. Part 2 and Part 3 also directly address suffering, including powerful tire-meets-the-road stories of people in intense pain and which ideas and approaches to thinking about evil often exacerbate their suffering versus the ones that are more helpful.