Many have argued that the Holocaust is an evil of such unimaginable proportions that it is impossible to say anything meaningful about it. And yet, referring to the trial of one of its perpetrators, the Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt coined the well-known sentence of ‘banality of evil’ to describe the gap she observed between the scale of the crimes and the ordinariness and shallowness of the people who committed them. Many critics agree that the 2006 historical fiction novel The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell gives a unique insight into this gap. The book is narrated by its fictional protagonist Maximilien Aue, a former SS officer who is a Holocaust perpetrator and the witness of several major events of World War II. The talk will include a summary of this work and focus on few passages shared beforehand so that no previous knowledge of the novel is required.
The Saint Thomas Theological Education Programme 2024-25 offers a series of talks on The Question of Evil and Suffering and The Theology of Healing by our Theologian In Residence, Fr Luigi Gioia. The dates and titles of the talks are available for download. The lectures will be livestreamed on YouTube and video-recorded. If you want to receive weekly updates about the programme please register online.
Saint Thomas Theological Education Program is at the service of those who seek a deeper understanding of faith and want to nourish their worship and their prayer. The teaching is rooted in Scripture, Christian tradition and spirituality. The lecturers are The Rev. Dr. Luigi Gioia, Theologian in Residence, and internationally renowned guest speakers who are committed to making theology accessible to non-specialists. The classes are held on Sundays at 10 AM on the Fifth Floor of the Parish House and are streamed online. Additionally, recordings and handouts are made available for those who cannot attend the live sessions. For more information about our theology program and to receive links for weekly Sunday Theology Talks, please contact Fr. Gioia.
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