Why Does God Allow Tragedy?

Okay, so here's a question that often backs us into the corner: Why does God allow tragedy? We heard it with Katrina, and now we're hearing it again with Haiti. People -- Christians and nonChristians alike -- want to know why if God is so good He would allow bad things -- terrible, devastating things -- to happen to good people. If God loves us, wouldn't He protect us? If God is all-powerful, wouldn't He stop natural disasters? Socrates in the City is never one to shy away from the big questions. Believing that "the unexamined life is not worth living," Socrates tackles the questions that are on people's hearts and minds. Later this month, they're bringing in MIT physicist and author Dr. Gerald Schroeder, Ph.D., to wrestle with the very question of why God allows tragedy to occur:

SOCRATES IN THE CITY:
Conversations on the Examined Life

* INVITES YOU TO JOIN US *

For an evening of entertaining and provocative discussion
on "life, God, and other small topics"

February 24th, 2010

The University Club**
(One West 54th Street at Fifth Avenue)

with host ERIC METAXAS

and special guest

DR. GERALD SCHROEDER, Ph.D.

MIT Physicist and author of
Genesis & the Big Bang, The Science of God,
The Hidden Face of God, and God According to God.

who will speak on the topic

"Why Does God Allow Tragedy?"

Wine & Cheese Reception from 6:30 till 6:55 pm
Speaking will begin at 7:00 pm SHARP
Dr. Gerald Schroeder will sign copies of his books at 8:15 pm

** Club requires appropriate attire for all persons;
coat and tie for gentlemen.

Please register/rsvp for this event by clicking here to pay online,
or by calling 1.646.201.3375.

Please note that registration before February 18th is $35.
Registration on or after February 18th and before February 23rd is $50.
Registration on or after February 23rd or at the door is $75.

VIP Reception
There will be an hors d'oeuvres and wine VIP Reception with Dr. Schroeder from 6:15pm until 6:55pm. Attendance at this reception (and which includes the event immediately following with Gerald Schroeder) is $75 before February 18th -- or $100 between February 18th and February 22nd, or $125 on or after February 23rd.
To rsvp, please click here.
Please be advised that space for this reception is limited.

SITC Patron's Dinner
There will be a SITC Patron's Dinner with Dr. Schroeder and special guests immediately following the event (approx. 8:45 pm). Attendance at this dinner (and which includes the VIP Reception and the event with Dr. Gerald Schroeder) is open to any persons making a tax-deductible donation to Socrates in the City of $500 or more by clicking here.
Please be advised that seating for this dinner is very limited.

Donations to SITC
If you are unable to be with us on February 24th for this special evening with Dr. Gerald Schroeder but would like to contribute to the work of Socrates in the City by making a tax-deductible donation at this time, we would be very grateful to you. To make a tax-deductible donation to Socrates in the City please click here.

Dr. Gerald Schroeder

Dr. Gerald Schroeder, Ph.D., is a scientist, author, and lecturer, who focuses on what he perceives to be an inherent relationship between science and spirituality.

In 1965, Schroeder received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in nuclear physics and earth and planetary sciences. He worked five years on the staff of the MIT physics department. After emigrating to Israel in 1971, he was employed as a researcher at the Weizmann Institute of Science, the Volcani Research Institute, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His Doctorate was in two science fields, Earth sciences and physics. He teaches at Aish HaTorah College of Jewish Studies.

He professes Orthodox Judaism, and his works frequently cite Talmudic, Midrashic and medieval commentaries on Biblical creation accounts, such as commentaries written by the Jewish philosopher Nachmanides. Among other things, Schroeder attempts to reconcile a young earth creationism Biblical view with the scientific model of a world that is billions of years old using the idea that the perceived flow of time for a given event in an expanding universe varies with the observer’s perspective of that event. He attempts to reconcile the two perspectives numerically, calculating the effect of the stretching of space-time, based on Einstein's theory of general relativity. Schroeder holds to a theistic evolution view.

[image of Schroeder via Socrates in the City]

Socrates in the City was founded and is run by Eric Metaxas, author of the New York Times best seller Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery. Hitting bookshelves soon is his biography on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, which will feature a foreword by Redeemer's Tim Keller.

Register TODAY for the discounted ticket price for the Socrates in the City event.