| Summary: | www.cord.edu/dept/concord/news.htm NEWS 3 Osama bin Laden: to forgive or not to forgive? Brooke Swenson Staff Writer The religious concept of forgiveness is riddled with complex issues. Apply it towards the alleged mastermind behind the attacks of Sept. 11 and the concept becomes even more difficult. This was the concept presented to Religion 100 students at a lecture given March 21 at Concordia. The lecture, entitled "Bring Osama to Justice or Justice to Osama: A Jewish Response " was conduct-ed by Rabbi Barry Cytron, Director of the J. Philips Center for Jewish Christian Learning and a professor at the University of St. Thomas and St John's University. The lecture was part of the Religion 100 enrichment lecture series that aims to pro-vide an opportunity to broaden students' learning experience. One lecture is present-ed each semester. James Aageson, professor of religion, organized the event, which he felt was a great learning opportunity for the students. "We wanted students to be exposed to a "Forgiveness is an impor-tant religious matter for both religious traditions." James Aageson Professor of Religion Jewish person and see how they think in regards to a contemporary moral or ethical issue " Aageson said. The presentation focused on the Biblical Old Testament and the Hebrew Bible and how those texts handled the commandment of *tthou shall not kill" Then, Rabbi Cytron focused on the development of this com-mandment in relation to the idea of forgive-ness. He ultimately connected the notion of forgiveness of Osama bin Laden, for his alleged role in the Sept. 11 attacks. "Forgiveness is an important religious matter for both religious traditions," Aageson said. Roy Hammerling, assistant professor of religion, felt the seminar was important because it discussed a complicated problem. 'There are a lot of different dilemmas you have to solve " he said, "to ensure you have real justice and not just sheer revenge." Both Hammerling and Aageson felt they learned something from the presentation. "I was moved by the Rabbi's comments " Hammerling said. "He discussed how indi-viduals and nations think about problems and at what point do we become like the ter-rorists in our quest for justice." Aageson was interested in the manner in which Cytron dealt with forgiveness. "It was interesting to see the way he eth-ically worked with tradition to the contem-porary issue of bin Laden " Aageson said. "There are no easy answers, but the questions are important to ask. " Roy Hammerling Assistant Professor of Religion Both the teachers felt the students' response to the presentation was very posi-tive. Most students were interested in the topic but had a hard time with forgiving bin Laden. "I think [forgiving bin Laden] would be absolutely insane" said freshman Kristin Steffan. "It really differs from my beliefs." She explained that the sheer magnitude of bin Laden's crimes made her ability to forgive very difficult; however, she still felt that it was a good topic to discuss. Freshman Scott Brusven echoed similar sentiments. "I felt the topic itself is very good," he said, "but it was not presented well." Brusven learned a great deal about the Jewish faith but ultimately felt that faith doesn't have an answer for the topic. Hammerling also felt that resolutions were hard to ascertain. 'There are no easy answers," he said, "but the questions are really important to ask." Debaters compete nationally; disappointing results Brooke Swenson Staff Writer The Concordia Debate team finished their season with their recent participation in the National Debate Tournament March 22-26. Two Concordia teams competed in the 72-team meet held at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo. The teams competed in eight preliminary rounds, hoping to gain a 5-3 record which was need-ed to advance to elimination rounds. The team of senior Harry Niska and junior Sarah Topp fin-ished with a 4-4 record. The team of senior Andy Kemp and sopho-more Nicole Richter finished with a 2-6 record. "We were hoping for better," said Fred Sternhagen, director of Forensics. "We were aiming for two teams in eliminations, not one team that was close." Kemp and Richter were expe-riencing problems with con-stituency, which had plagued "We were hoping for better." Fred Sternhagen Director of Forensics them the entire season. "It was not the kind of tourna-ment they were capable of," Sternhagen said. Kemp felt the toughest round of the tournament was the first, during which they faced a team from the University of Pittsburgh. "It was glaringly obvious that we were going to lose from the beginning to the end," Kemp said. "We were good but they knew how to react and move one step ahead." In his second trip to nationals, Kemp said there were portions of the tournament that made him nervous. 'The most nerve racking part of the tournament is the begin-ning of round one when they announce the pairings" he said. "It sends shudders down your spine." i Niska said the flight to the tournament made him the most nervous. "We were bumped from our flight and we didn't know when we were going to get there," he said. "We didn't even know if the evidence would get there on time." SEE DEBATE ON PAGE 4 Interest Meeting!!! Interest Meeting!!! Interest Meeting!!! Interest Meeting!!! Study Abroad Spring Semester 2003 Scandinavia & the Baltic Program based in Lillehammer. Norway Program Group Travel throughout Scandinavia and the Baltic ';, •• *** Orientation in Iceland *** .*** Ski Olympic trails and go hiking in the mountains *** *** Earn Integration, Religion, and P.E. core credit *** ts;-::/r-.-,- •"•*'** The Best Bargain in Study Abroad *** . ^•••^:r"-v«^vi:--;r^\. . Please attend an Interest Meeting, ., " Thursday, April 11, at 6:00 pm in Bishop Whipple 343, t /:! Bring your questions WL& your friends. . , :: ' ^ ^ / „ - * ,#•: X :*. » • • - * . > • Office of International Education, Outreach 111 •*' "•
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