Celebrate Yom Kippur!

September 21st, 2007 by admin


Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, starts at sundown tonight! To learn more about Yom Kippur, visit this site.

Want to know more about Judaism? Check out BBC’s Religion and Ethics site, here.

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Site Map

September 21st, 2007 by admin

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Rosh Hashanah and Ramadan

September 21st, 2007 by admin

Yes, I’m aware I missed Rosh Hashanah (Judaism, September 13-14) and the beginning of Ramadan (Islam, September 13). Yes, normally I would have blogged about these holidays. To make up for it, check out these two videos, which provide great explanations of the two holidays/celebrations/commemorations.

Filed under: Holidays, Islam, Judaism | 4 Comments »

Looking Forward

September 21st, 2007 by admin

Emory University’s Center for the Study of Law and Religion has announced an upcoming conference, titled “From Silver to Gold: The Next 25 Years of Law and Religion.” To be held on October 24-26, the time will be used by hosts to attempt to discern what questions of religion will be faced in the coming 25 years. Check out their agenda for a list of topics.

It seems tolerance is on the list. While I, myself, have always been a proponent of understanding, it feels like “tolerance” is perhaps already dated in 2007. Are we really looking to just “tolerate” various religions across the globe these days? Does it look like the United States is just “allowing” whatever is going on in the Middle East and letting it go? I would think we’re way beyond tolerance. We’re on much more of a quest for Truth, for the right path, for understanding one another and determining who’s right and who’s wrong (or perhaps whether we’re all right or all wrong). I don’t think we, as a people, would be satisfied with just mere tolerance anymore. We want to know whether we should override the other or whether it’s ok for their beliefs to override our own. I would certainly argue that a session on “peace and understanding” or “religious pluralism” would be much more helpful with regard to the future than a look at the possibilities of tolerance.

That being said, I do feel that the sessions on legalism, ethics/morality in public society, and religious freedoms in the developing world are relevant and enticing. And while I may have just spent an entire paragraph knocking one person’s topic of choice…I must say I am pleased to see that three full days will be spent hashing out important issues in world religions. Biased or not, these are discussions the world should be paying attention to.

Maybe they could broadcast it on CSPAN Book TV (biggest fan alert!). Speaking of, if you’re in the Champaign-Urbana area today, stop by the U of I where the Book TV bus will be stopping.

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Ask and Ye Shall Receive

September 7th, 2007 by admin

Yesterday, I blogged about the latest question on On Faith. I also complained that On Faith did not include any voices from eastern religions.

I realize they weren’t responding to my blog. But perhaps a divine voice spoke to them and told them people like me were hoping for an eastern religion response. Today, they posted a response from Wendy Doniger, a professor of the History of Religion at the University of Chicago who teaches courses in Hinduism. She’s witty and to the point. And I love how she concludes that there is no conclusion.

Furthermore, I’m always dumbfounded at how eastern and western religions are thought to be so different…when really, they’re much more alike than they may seem at first glance. Doniger’s array of explanations seems to be a different take on common explanations given by western religions. After all, she herself admits that karma is really just another way of saying, “God (or god or gods or existence) is punishing me for something I did.”

Check out her post for more.

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Explanations for Evil

September 6th, 2007 by admin


Today’s daily question on On Faith’s Web site asked, “As we commemorate the anniversaries of Katrina and 9/11: Why would a merciful God allow disasters — natural or manmade — to happen?”

A number of Christian theologians and pastors answered the question. I was pleased, though admittedly taken aback, to see the inclusion of an argument by an atheist, author Susan Jacoby.

The only word I could think of after reading her post was “ouch”.

That being said, I found it interesting that Jacoby believed the only Christian explanation for bad things happening to good people was that we, as humans, had done something wrong. While the Fall of Man is a pretty popular explanation in Christianity, it is not the only explanation. I have always appreciated the answer given by author Joni Eareckson Tada: “Sometimes God allows what he hates to accomplish what he loves.”

Isn’t this possible for a creator involved with creation? Isn’t it possible that God is testing mankind, preparing to reward them if they can make it through tragedy? Oftentimes, if man can survive tragedy, he finds hope and sometimes even happiness. Look at the bridge collapse in Minneapolis. After this tragedy occurred, city governments across the nation began to examine their infrastructure to determine what might need to be rebuilt and stabilized for public safety. True, many terrible events have followed 9/11, none of them positive. But look at the overwhelming increase of religious and cultural studies programs in universities across the nation — largely as a result of 9/11, people are taking a closer look at one another, many working to understand and accept the “other”. Or take for example Hurricane Katrina. Though thousands of people are still without adequate housing, downtown New Orleans has regained steam as a hotspot for tourism.

The point is, it’s at least possible that a Creator God would use negative means to achieve positive ends.

My question is, why didn’t On Faith include answers from eastern religions? I would have personally loved to hear answers from those who do not believe in a singular deity but who do believe in divinity. What might someone say who follows a religion but is not monotheistic?

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Mother Angelica

September 5th, 2007 by admin


My most recent article, written for Radiant magazine’s e-newsletter, is now available. It describes the life of Mother Angelica, the famed nun who started her own television network, EWTN.

Check it out here.

Filed under: Catholicism, Christianity | 2 Comments »