Finding Meaning in Suffering – Clinical and Pastoral Perspectives from an Interfaith Panel
Panelists: Rabbi Daniel Greyber; Chaplain Aaron Klink; and Asma Mobin-Uddin, MD, Pediatrician and Clinical Bioethicist, Ohio State University Center for Bioethics. Moderator: John P. Oliver, DMin, Director, Department of Chaplain Services and Education, Duke Health
How do the faith traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam address the problem of suffering and pain in the world? How do these traditions define and understand the human experience of suffering, specifically in the context of serious or terminal illness? How do they reconcile the seeming tension between this experience and a belief in God’s goodness and omnipotence? What rituals and practices do these faiths advise to help believers find relief? And how do believers themselves use the teachings of their faith to cope, find meaning, and even thrive in the context of catastrophic illness?
These questions and more will be explored by our panel of scholars from the Jewish, Christian and Islamic faiths. Our panelists have extensive experience at the bedside of ill and dying patients and are informed by their work in medicine and clinical practice, theology and pastoral care, and ethics. The presenters include a rabbi who has written a memoir about walking alongside those who are grieving, a Christian chaplain with years of practice in the hospice setting, and a Muslim physician and bioethicist who has decades of experience in clinical practice and community engagement. Attendees will gain an appreciation of common threads between the traditions as well as exposure to how unique understandings and practices distinguish the experiences of the faithful.
The following clinical case will be used as a backdrop for this discussion:
Sarah is a previously healthy woman who has been feeling run down and tired for a few months. She is now noticing unusual aches and pains. She had delayed seeing her doctor about these issues due to prioritizing taking care of her family and managing community obligations. Sarah is married, has two children ages 9 and 11, and works part-time as a real estate agent. She also volunteers for the PTO at her children’s school and in the kindergarten class for the weekend school at her house of worship. When Sarah finally sees her physician and undergoes some medical testing, she is shocked to learn that she has an aggressive form of cancer, and it has spread. She learns she needs to have immediate surgery and then chemotherapy and radiation. She has only a moderate chance of survival. She is terrified of what the future may hold, confused as to why this is happening to her, and in emotional and increasingly physical pain. She reaches out to sources of support in her faith community including the religious leader at her house of worship.
How might the religious leader advise Sarah? What teachings and practices in her faith speak to her condition and offer guidance, meaning and a path to help her cope?
We will explore the above case and more as our religiously diverse panelists address the topic of how believers find meaning in suffering, find strength in the teachings of their faith, and cope with pain at the end of life due to conditions such as cancer or terminal illness.
These questions and more will be explored by our panel of scholars from the Jewish, Christian and Islamic faiths. Our panelists have extensive experience at the bedside of ill and dying patients and are informed by their work in medicine and clinical practice, theology and pastoral care, and ethics. The presenters include a rabbi who has written a memoir about walking alongside those who are grieving, a Christian chaplain with years of practice in the hospice setting, and a Muslim physician and bioethicist who has decades of experience in clinical practice and community engagement. Attendees will gain an appreciation of common threads between the traditions as well as exposure to how unique understandings and practices distinguish the experiences of the faithful.
The following clinical case will be used as a backdrop for this discussion:
Sarah is a previously healthy woman who has been feeling run down and tired for a few months. She is now noticing unusual aches and pains. She had delayed seeing her doctor about these issues due to prioritizing taking care of her family and managing community obligations. Sarah is married, has two children ages 9 and 11, and works part-time as a real estate agent. She also volunteers for the PTO at her children’s school and in the kindergarten class for the weekend school at her house of worship. When Sarah finally sees her physician and undergoes some medical testing, she is shocked to learn that she has an aggressive form of cancer, and it has spread. She learns she needs to have immediate surgery and then chemotherapy and radiation. She has only a moderate chance of survival. She is terrified of what the future may hold, confused as to why this is happening to her, and in emotional and increasingly physical pain. She reaches out to sources of support in her faith community including the religious leader at her house of worship.
How might the religious leader advise Sarah? What teachings and practices in her faith speak to her condition and offer guidance, meaning and a path to help her cope?
We will explore the above case and more as our religiously diverse panelists address the topic of how believers find meaning in suffering, find strength in the teachings of their faith, and cope with pain at the end of life due to conditions such as cancer or terminal illness.