THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 2, 1995 TAG: 9505020306
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ESTHER DISKIN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
``An evil act perpetrated by evil people.'' That description of the bombing in Oklahoma City is debated by local religious leaders on a new interfaith talk show starting this week on cable television.
The interfaith forum will tackle common values and the role of faith in current issues and modern living. It is planned as a regular feature of the long-running ``Focus on Faith'' show on Cox Cable, but no decisions have been made about how often it will run.
The panel features Norfolk leaders from three mainstream denominations: Rabbi Lawrence A. Forman, of Ohef Sholom Temple, a Reform Jewish synagogue; the Rev. Donald Dunlap, of Freemason Street Baptist Church; and the Rev. William J. Dale, of St. Pius X Catholic Church.
The interfaith program is designed ``to raise questions from a religious perspective and at the same, to present the notion that there is not one orthodoxy or lockstep view to hold on to,'' Dale said.
James Bergdoll, the show's moderator and vice president for college relations and planning at Virginia Wesleyan College, said he hopes to include representatives of other faiths in future shows.
The program will often deal with major issues in the news, such as the role of the church in politics, and take topic suggestions from viewers.
Different religious perspectives quickly surfaced as the trio debated the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. When Bergdoll described it as ``an evil act perpetrated by evil people,'' Dale objected.
``I am reluctant to talk about evil people,'' he said. ``That sets us up in a judgmental role that is not faithful to religious tradition, at least the one that I come out of - a tradition that leads us to separate the acts of people from the people themselves.''
``How can we do that?'' Forman asked him. ``Don't we know people by their behavior? How can we delineate between a person's behavior and the integrity of a person's soul or character?''
Dale replied that for him, the term ``evil person'' carries a finality, which does not allow for the possibility of redemption.
But, Forman asked, doesn't a person who commits murder ``forfeit any claim to his own redemption?''
All three panelists agreed that religious leaders must help the community resist any temptation to react to acts of violence with calls for violent retribution.
``We have to help people deal with violence so we don't become like those we are trying to restrain,'' Dunlap said. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
INTERFAITH FORUM
The forum on ``Focus on Faith'' will be aired on Cox Cable Channel
11 three times this week: today and Thursday at 11 a.m., and Sunday
at 6:30 p.m.
by CNB