The most recent show topic on Interfaith Voices radio program is entitled "Evangelicals and Atheists...Good Bedfellows?" Maureen Fiedler interviews Frank Schaeffer who has written a book called Patience with God: Faith for People Who Don't Like Religion (Or Atheism).
In the past, Schaeffer helped build up the religious right and was part of this movement until he discovered it was full of fanatics. After leaving the religious right movement he has argued that the religious fundamentalists and the extremist atheists in our culture have a whole lot in common.
Listen to the program at Interfaith Voices.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Parialment of World Religions Names First Muslim Leader
The Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions elected as its chair Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid, a Chicago Muslim.
Adelle M. Banks has the whole story at RNS.
Adelle M. Banks has the whole story at RNS.
New Book Explores Relationship Between Ancient Biblical Laws and Contemporary Church Controversies
One of the Old Testament professors at my alma mater, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL, Cheryl Anderson, is publishing a scholarly book called Ancient Laws and Contemporary Controversies: The Need for Inclusive Biblical Interpretation (Oxford, 2009).
The Religion Press Release Service states of Dr. Anderson's book: "Anderson contends that biblical laws, such as one requiring unmarried women to marry their rapist, or those accepting slavery, reflect a privileged male perspective and not necessarily those of everyone in faith communities. She argues that traditional Christian practices and biblical interpretations still exclude voices of women and certain others, including homosexuals and different racial/ethnic groups. She maintains that contemporary controversies in churches - such as homosexuality and the ordination of women - result from these groups expressing their own realities and perspectives on faith. According to Anderson, inclusive biblical viewpoints are consistent with Christian tradition. She bases her conclusions on the Bible (Old and New Testaments) and Protestant reformers (Martin Luther, John Calvin and John Wesley), and parallels them with the U.S. Constitution."
I remember Dr. Anderson as being an intriguing professor for several reasons, but especially because of the way she was able to relate Mosaic, biblical law to contemporary legal issues and legislature due to her background and degree in American law. This especially suits her in writing such a scholarly piece about the relationship between ancient biblical law and current issues in legality. It should be an academically rigorous and provocative work.
Check out a review of the book at RNS.
The Religion Press Release Service states of Dr. Anderson's book: "Anderson contends that biblical laws, such as one requiring unmarried women to marry their rapist, or those accepting slavery, reflect a privileged male perspective and not necessarily those of everyone in faith communities. She argues that traditional Christian practices and biblical interpretations still exclude voices of women and certain others, including homosexuals and different racial/ethnic groups. She maintains that contemporary controversies in churches - such as homosexuality and the ordination of women - result from these groups expressing their own realities and perspectives on faith. According to Anderson, inclusive biblical viewpoints are consistent with Christian tradition. She bases her conclusions on the Bible (Old and New Testaments) and Protestant reformers (Martin Luther, John Calvin and John Wesley), and parallels them with the U.S. Constitution."
I remember Dr. Anderson as being an intriguing professor for several reasons, but especially because of the way she was able to relate Mosaic, biblical law to contemporary legal issues and legislature due to her background and degree in American law. This especially suits her in writing such a scholarly piece about the relationship between ancient biblical law and current issues in legality. It should be an academically rigorous and provocative work.
Check out a review of the book at RNS.
Happy B-day Baha'u'llah!
For Baha'is, today is the Birthday of Baha'u'llah, the prophet and founder of the Baha'i Faith and celebrates the rebirth of the world through the love of God. In many ways, it's similar to the Christian celebration of Christmas.
Baha'u'llah was born on Nov. 12, 1817 in Tehran, Iran (Persia). He taught that manifestations of God (such as Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Jesus, Muhammad, etc.) have appeared throughout history to help us better know and worship the one God and bring human relationships and societies to a greater, more loving existence.
There are no prescribed rituals for celebrating the Birthday of Baha'u'llah, but its usually marked by abstaining from work (if possible) and having community gatherings where prayers, devotional readings, music, and food are shared. It's a time for rejoicing and affirming the unity of community (something that we in Unity Christianity can note as significance and share with our Baha'i brothers and sisters).
From sunset Nov. 11 to sunset Nov. 12 today, we can each pause and, in ways appropriate to our own religious tradition or spiritual path, send thoughts and actions of love and goodwill toward our Baha'i brothers and sisters as they celebrate the Birth of Baha'u'llah, their prophet and founder.
Peace and blessings!
Baha'u'llah was born on Nov. 12, 1817 in Tehran, Iran (Persia). He taught that manifestations of God (such as Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Jesus, Muhammad, etc.) have appeared throughout history to help us better know and worship the one God and bring human relationships and societies to a greater, more loving existence.
There are no prescribed rituals for celebrating the Birthday of Baha'u'llah, but its usually marked by abstaining from work (if possible) and having community gatherings where prayers, devotional readings, music, and food are shared. It's a time for rejoicing and affirming the unity of community (something that we in Unity Christianity can note as significance and share with our Baha'i brothers and sisters).
From sunset Nov. 11 to sunset Nov. 12 today, we can each pause and, in ways appropriate to our own religious tradition or spiritual path, send thoughts and actions of love and goodwill toward our Baha'i brothers and sisters as they celebrate the Birth of Baha'u'llah, their prophet and founder.
Peace and blessings!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
New Study Shows Vitality of Religious Left
A new study from the University of Florida dispels some common fictions about the political power and presence of the religiously liberal and progressive in the U.S.
The study essentially states that, despite the lack of religiously liberal voices portrayed in the media, there is a burgeoning leftist religious population in the U.S. and dispels the known "God gap" theory that white Christians are conservative and most likely to vote Republican. Kenneth Wald of the U of Florida states: "We are able to uncover considerable evidence of a religious left among Christians, and the big news is that it matters electorally...Having a strong communitarian view of faith is associated with voting for Democratic candidates. Because of favorable political circumstances, we're in an age where we're likely to see a flowering of the religious left." (U of Florida press release)
Candace Chellew-Hodge says more at Religion Dispatches.
The study essentially states that, despite the lack of religiously liberal voices portrayed in the media, there is a burgeoning leftist religious population in the U.S. and dispels the known "God gap" theory that white Christians are conservative and most likely to vote Republican. Kenneth Wald of the U of Florida states: "We are able to uncover considerable evidence of a religious left among Christians, and the big news is that it matters electorally...Having a strong communitarian view of faith is associated with voting for Democratic candidates. Because of favorable political circumstances, we're in an age where we're likely to see a flowering of the religious left." (U of Florida press release)
Candace Chellew-Hodge says more at Religion Dispatches.
Liberal View of New Hate Crimes Legislation
For those following the new hate crimes legislation signed by President Obama that expands past federal hate crime laws to make it an offense to attack people because of their sexual orientation, here is an opinion piece in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch by Rev. Dr. Daniel O'Connell that gives a great summary of a liberal or progressive view of this new law and the values of equality and liberty that underpin it.
Some regard the recent law as a success for supporting and affirming the freedom and equality of every person in America, while others see it as having the potential of inhibiting religious speech (even though the law explicitly states that no one can be prosecuted for their belief-system or speech, only actions of violence and hate towards people due to their sexual orientation). As a Christian, my value system is one that rigorously affirms and seeks to enact in relationships and society the inherent dignity and worth of every human being. Most Americans (though, sadly, not all) don't put up with hate crimes against people because of their race, ethnicity, gender, or religion, so why should we also put up with hate crimes against those due to their sexual orientation?
Read Rev. Dr. O'Connell's op ed piece in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at Faith in Public Life.
Some regard the recent law as a success for supporting and affirming the freedom and equality of every person in America, while others see it as having the potential of inhibiting religious speech (even though the law explicitly states that no one can be prosecuted for their belief-system or speech, only actions of violence and hate towards people due to their sexual orientation). As a Christian, my value system is one that rigorously affirms and seeks to enact in relationships and society the inherent dignity and worth of every human being. Most Americans (though, sadly, not all) don't put up with hate crimes against people because of their race, ethnicity, gender, or religion, so why should we also put up with hate crimes against those due to their sexual orientation?
Read Rev. Dr. O'Connell's op ed piece in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at Faith in Public Life.
Music Topic on Unity.FM: Music as Worship and Theology
For those who are musically minded like myself, Rev. Dr. Thomas Shepherd's program on Unity.FM called "Let's Talk About It" will host the topic Make a Joyful Noise: Music as Worship, Theology, and Celebration.
This is an excellent topic for theological discussion within and outside of the Unity community. Indeed, music has been a central part of religious life in Christianity and other world religions. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors danced around fires and sang about the success of the hunt and to the Sacred for future successes. Hindu Vedic priests chanted the intricately prescribed Sanskrit words in elaborate rituals believed to appease the gods and bring about favor in human life. In the early Christian churches Christians gathered before dawn and sang hymns with each other to Christ, the Son of God and Savior of humanity.
In medieval Christendom, the Mass as a musical composition became a central component in worship, which not only set the time and organization for the service but also served as an aesthetic masterpiece of expression offered to the God of all creation.
However, music has sometimes become a "going-through-the-motions" with no gusto or spiritual fervor. This malady has been noticed and addressed in recent years with new musical movements that re-capture and re-conceive of music as an elemental part of spiritual expression, worship, and theological discourse. We can see this renaissance occurring not just in New Thought churches (in which it has had a profound impact) but also mainline and evangelical Protestant churches as well as Catholic and Eastern Orthodox congregations.
Check out this week's edition of "Let's Talk About It" on Friday Nov. 6 at 4pm CST at Unity.FM.
This is an excellent topic for theological discussion within and outside of the Unity community. Indeed, music has been a central part of religious life in Christianity and other world religions. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors danced around fires and sang about the success of the hunt and to the Sacred for future successes. Hindu Vedic priests chanted the intricately prescribed Sanskrit words in elaborate rituals believed to appease the gods and bring about favor in human life. In the early Christian churches Christians gathered before dawn and sang hymns with each other to Christ, the Son of God and Savior of humanity.
In medieval Christendom, the Mass as a musical composition became a central component in worship, which not only set the time and organization for the service but also served as an aesthetic masterpiece of expression offered to the God of all creation.
However, music has sometimes become a "going-through-the-motions" with no gusto or spiritual fervor. This malady has been noticed and addressed in recent years with new musical movements that re-capture and re-conceive of music as an elemental part of spiritual expression, worship, and theological discourse. We can see this renaissance occurring not just in New Thought churches (in which it has had a profound impact) but also mainline and evangelical Protestant churches as well as Catholic and Eastern Orthodox congregations.
Check out this week's edition of "Let's Talk About It" on Friday Nov. 6 at 4pm CST at Unity.FM.
Harvard's "Humanist" Chaplain on State of Belief
As a follow-up to my last post concerning Greg Epstein, Harvard University chaplain, and the notion of "humanistic" or "atheistic" chaplaincy as a viable mode of spiritual service, I'd like to bring to attention Epstein's presence as guest on this past weekend's program of State of Belief.
State of Belief is a radio program hosted by Rev. Welton Gaddy and sponsored by the Interfaith Alliance, an NGO dedicated to the upholding and maintaining of 1st Amendment religious rights and concerns.
Check out last week's program with Greg Epstein as guest here.
State of Belief is a radio program hosted by Rev. Welton Gaddy and sponsored by the Interfaith Alliance, an NGO dedicated to the upholding and maintaining of 1st Amendment religious rights and concerns.
Check out last week's program with Greg Epstein as guest here.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)