Lecture Series to Examine Religions

In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Americans poured into houses of worship seeking answers to questions of life and death, chance and providence, and faith and fanaticism.

Those questions will probably be posed again during a weekly lecture series on comparative religion in Encino.

The series, “Judaism and World Religions,” features speakers on Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Mormonism, Judaism and Islam, the latter being a faith that has gained worldwide attention since the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

The free lectures begin at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays at Valley Beth Shalom, 15739 Ventura Blvd. The series ends Nov. 28.

Although the lecture series was planned a year ago to coincide with the new millennium, organizers said the program has taken on greater significance as individuals ponder spiritual matters and try to understand other faiths.

“After Sept. 11, it hit people that religion is a powerful, if ambiguous, energy,” said Harold Schulweis, senior rabbi at Valley Beth Shalom and event moderator.

“It can be perverted, it can destroy, it can divide, it can lead to all kinds of aberrations,” he added. “What we want to do is bring out the better angels of humanity with these meetings.”

Understanding of Islam Sought

The lecture series began last week with a talk by the Rev. Thich Tam-Thien Kusala, Buddhist chaplain for the University Religious Conference at UCLA. Kusala related the precepts of the Buddhist faith to more than 1,000 people gathered in the temple sanctuary.

The lectures continue Wednesday with a discourse on Islam by Dr. Nazir Khaja, chairman of Islamic Information Service in Los Angeles.

He said, “I hope to create a better understanding of Islam as a faith, not the way everyone is understanding it in terms of some kind of political, reactive type of religion, faith or ideology.”

Khaja also said he intends to discuss the historic ethnic, religious and political strife between Muslims and Jews, which was inflamed by the Sept. 11 attacks.

Still, Khaja remains hopeful that by the end of his presentation people will begin to understand that the Islamic faith is rooted in justice and peace.

Schulweis said the purpose of the lecture series is not conversion, argument or debate, but to establish a working knowledge of faiths different from one’s own.

“It is no longer a luxury to have meaningful dialogue--it is indispensable if we are to live globally,” he said. “Being mute will only . . . eventually lead to anger and warfare.”

Other topics and speakers include:

* Protestantism by the Rev. James Lawson, emeritus pastor of Holman United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, Oct. 31.

* Mormonism by Professor Norman Barlow, director of the Latter-day Saints Institute of Religion of Moorpark, Nov. 7.

* Catholicism by Father Alexi Smith, director of the Ecumenical and Inter-religious Office of the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Nov. 14.

* Judaism by Schulweis on Nov. 28.

For information, call (818) 530-4098.