IN THEORY:Counsel after religious scandal

Los Angeles Times reporter and former Daily Pilot Editor William Lobdell recently wrote a column about how he suffered a crisis of faith during his tenure on the religion beat for The Times because he saw what he considered were many abuses of power by religious leaders. How do you counsel your followers who lose faith when there’s a scandal in your religion?

Whether it is a scandal or a devastating incident, like the unexpected death of a small child or the mass killing of innocent people, there are some things the human mind cannot reason or begin to understand.

To somewhat explain, like a parent who admonishes their adolescent child, the child cannot grasp the wisdom of the parent’s advice, but in the interest of the adolescent, he or she is better off to “believe” and “trust” the parent knows better.

So, the same can be said of God and faith — we must put our trust and faith in God, and to believe he is looking out for our best interest, although in that moment we don’t see it.

IMAM SAYED MOUSTAFA AL-QAZWINI

Belief can be bequeathed from one generation to the next, but faith demands personal struggle.

Receiving a belief about a proposition is different from achieving faith in that proposition. Beliefs can be accepted passively, while faith requires struggle.

I have known Bill Lobdell for years and regard him as a man of goodly character and estimable values — a mensch. His struggle was honestly taken up and vigorously pursued. If his newfound faith did not measure up to his beliefs, it is through no lack of sincerity and commitment.

In the contest between an invisible God and highly visible miscreants who speak in his name, between a God whose appearances seem inscrutable and whose earthly messengers appear on police blotters, that which is near and perceivable may well enjoy an edge.

Whether the struggle for faith results in its attainment or in disillusionment, each outcome can bless the seeker with an insight bordering on wisdom.

RABBI MARK S. MILLER

Unfortunately, religion is not free from corruption. We like to think that somehow our loftiest ideals will be lived out and truly manifested within our church (synagogue/mosque) community, and while to a certain extent they can be lived out, we have to face the reality that bad things happen.

Religious institutions are not perfect. They have been veils for injustice, power plays and even abuse for centuries. This realization is enough for some to walk out the door and never come back. I can understand that response. It saddens me, but it is important to name it as legitimate.

For me, Rabbi Kushner’s book, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People,” offers us relief, not only when our loved ones die but anytime awful things happen that we just can’t understand. Ideally, God’s house of worship would be free from hurt, pain, deceit, violence — that’s what we strive for. However, sometimes bad things happen we have no control over, or sometimes even when we have control our own human inequity causes us to turn our heads.

Even God can’t keep us free from pain, hurt or abuse. However, we do not have to turn our heads from injustice inside or outside of the church, and we can (and must) hold ourselves accountable. In doing so, we realign ourselves with God’s intentions and we stand as God’s people, flawed but loved. For me, there continues to be hope in the church, for as we recognize our mistakes and failures, we get closer to God and we build a stronger community of faith.

REV. SARAH HALVERSON