Every day certain circumstances cause people throughout the world to face undeniable questions about God and his abilities. Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero takes viewers through the stories and theodicies of multiple people affected by the horrendous tragedy of 9/11, questioning God’s role in the evil that took place on that sorrowful day and the impact it made on their futures. In the film Kirk Varnedoe, Tim Lynston, and Dasha Rittenberg provide their input and opinions about God and the good or bad power he has on this earth, relating to the works of Holy the Firm, and Holy Terrors.
In Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero, Kirk Varnedoe, former Chief Curator at the Museum of Modern Art, offers insight …show more content…
He goes on to state that art “focuses with a new immediacy on the things that may be the most familiar to you” and “gives a new spiritual dimension to the objects that you touch.” Varnedoe is illustrating to viewers the compelling significance that art can have on a person’s life through the most simplest and transparent of things, “this sort of pleasure in the daily small things.” It is through the most mundane and recognizable commodities that people are able to encounter an alternative to religious beliefs that they typically acquire through immaculate works of art. In Holy the Firm Annie Dillard believes in similar concepts to those of Varnedoes, except she interprets it directly through religion and her religious beliefs rather than through works of art. Dillard believes God is in everyone, in everything, and is constantly present in her life and the lives of others. She believes “every day is a god,” whether terrifying or …show more content…
Dasha Rittenberg questions God 's power, wondering how and why some people can be so excruciatingly malevolent and have little or no reasoning behind their evil doings. A survivor of the Holocaust, Rittenberg reveals stories of the tough and gruesome challenges she experienced and the many corrupt people she faced throughout her grim and ominous journey. She was constantly surrounded by evil, “my own eyes and ears heard and saw evil...people would go to sleep every night, get up in the morning and eat and drink and be evil,” and she knew first hand the unpleasant impact it brought into people 's lives, including her own. 9/11 caused Rittenberg to question the corruptness God brought into this world through evil and immoral people, “were they, too, created in the image of God?” God can no longer be a powerful and uplifting being because of people who he himself made into poor images, or can he? Holy Terrors provides readers with a whole different aspect on the thought of evil and whether or not God should be blamed for the villainous wrongdoings people chose to undertake. The hijackers of 9/11 were provided with a list of final instructions to review before the attack, reminding them the reasons as to why they are to complete the task they were presented with: “be happy, optimistic, calm because you are heading