My new Twitter handle is now live - check me out at @jackiewgibson!
CNN has posted a history of bias against Sikhs - more reason for people to learn about religions before they attack anyone:...
Sikh temple shooting unfolding, learn about Sikhism here: http://t.co/A0ltLLIm
Sikh temple shooting unfolding, learn about Sikhism here: http://t.co/l3KrAJZf
Hackers group Anonymous takes down Vatican website: http://t.co/B6lbGAVp
WGN-TV calls doomsday prophecies "an illusion": http://t.co/mv8Gzyw7
RT @graceishuman: Really,? Asking people JUST LEAVING the service how they felt about it? Tacky, tacky, inappropriate
Whitney Houston's funeral service really took the world to church. Love Pastor Winans' honesty, very moving.
#teacher ? Here are appropriate responses to situations with your Jehovah's Witness student: http://t.co/A6UfqcgH
#Teachers: Want to know why your Jehovah's Witness student won't say the pledge and how to respond? http://t.co/EIdlgDwW
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Judaism
Recently, 58 clergy and lay leaders from Conservative Judaism demanded a strategic plan for the future of the movement, according to Religion News Service.
In response, Rabbi Steven Wernick will replace now-retired Rabbi Jerome Epstein as executive vice president of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. The Conservative movement lost ground under Epstein, as Jews transferred out of the movement and other Jews transferred into Reform Judaism. The synagogue hopes the movement will be see revived interest under Wernick.
What are the different branches of Judaism?
In the United States, there are three main movements: Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox. (Visit this site to learn about movements in Israel and the UK.)
Orthodox Jews observe Jewish laws and practices strictly and pay special attention to their history, particularly that spelled out in the Torah. For them, all laws needed throughout life were given to Moses.
Reform Jews sought to combine Jewish law with the facts of modern life. Many see themselves as more current and relevant than Orthodox Jews. For them, laws can change and new laws can be revealed as time goes on.
Conservative Jews (including Wernick and Epstein) fall in the middle. They follow traditional Jewish law but will accept changes that jibe with that tradition.
Two other Jewish denominations
Though not as large as the aforementioned big three, two other branches of Judaism exist in the States: Humanistic and Reconstructionist.
Reconstructionist Jews may observe Jewish rituals and practices, but mostly because it’s cultural. They don’t believe in God as a personal God who chose the Jews as His people.
Humanistic Jews follow Jewish cultural practices but do not pay much attention to the Jewish religion, sometimes believing God doesn’t exist at all.
What is Kabbalah?
Kabbalah is Jewish mysticism – in other words, those who practice Kabbalah are more concerned with experiencing unity with God than becoming knowledgeable about Jewish practice, tradition, and literature. For them, the experience of meeting with the divine is key. Learn more on ReligionTranscends.com.
Copyright 2009, Religion Transcends
Following are some upcoming (and current) religious holidays.
JUDAISM:
Passover (or Pesach): April 8-April 16
Commemoration surrounding Passover relates to Exodus 1-15. In the Exodus portion of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament), Moses tells the story of his and the Israelites’ escape from slavery in Egypt. God inflicted 10 plagues on the Pharaoh and the Egyptians. The 10th was the plague on the firstborns. In this plague, God said he would pass over the houses in Egypt and all firstborn sons within those homes would die. But he told the Israelites to put blood of lambs on their doorways and he would pass over their homes. After this came to pass, the Israelites were led out of Egypt. Today, Passover is a remembrance of both God’s sparing the Jews and the Jews escape to freedom. Learn about specific Passover rituals and traditions online.
CHRISTIANITY:
Holy Week: April 5-April 11; Easter April 12
Holy Week marks the last week of Lent, just before Easter. Events during Holy Week commemorate events leading up the crucifixion of Jesus:
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-Palm Sunday (April 5): Last Sunday marked the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.
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-Spy Wednesday (April 8): This isn’t really celebrated, but this marks the day when Jesus’ disciple Judas Iscariot betrayed him to the chief priests; read about this in the Bible’s New Testament.
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-Maundy Thursday (April 9): Thursday commemorates the Last Supper which led to the Christian ritual of communion or the Eucharist. Jesus was initially commemorating the Passover feast (the Jewish seder).
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-Good Friday (April 10): Friday commemorates Jesus’ crucifixion.
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-Holy Saturday (April 11): This is the night before Easter; Christians, particularly Catholics, often attend worship services on this night.
Holy Week leads up to Easter Sunday, April 12, when Christians believe Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven. Learn more about Easter online.
SIKHISM:
Baisakhi: April 14
Learn about this Sikh holiday on ReligionTranscends.com.
Copyright 2009, Religion Transcends
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Some religious leaders are concerned that students in theological seminaries (including future rabbis and pastors) aren’t learning enough about sex and gender issues, according to a recent program from Religion and Ethics Newsweekly.
According to the program: “The Religious Institute on Sexual Morality is a nonprofit group that helps promote sexual health in faith communities. The Institute recently studied 36 seminaries across denominational lines. The study found an ‘overwhelming need’ to better educate and prepare future religious leaders in the area of human sexuality.”
While seminaries may discuss sexual harassment, pastors say these additional topics might be important to learn about, in order to be prepared to minister to people of all sexual orientations or to know how to counsel those with sexuality-related problems:
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Teen sex
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Infidelity
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Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues, including gay marriage and gay clergy
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Cohabitation
Others argue that it’s not the seminary’s job to provide such education – it should be learned on the job. Regardless, the Religious Institute received a grant to introduce sexuality courses to seminaries and practicing ministers.
What do you think? Would you go to your religious leader for help regarding issues of sexuality? Do you expect your leader to have the knowledge to counsel on such issues if necessary? If so, where should they learn about sexual topics?
Copyright 2009, Religion Transcends
Hanukkah is the Jewish festival of lights, which began yesterday. Lasting 8 days, the holiday celebrates light conquering darkness (in particular, it celebrates the day the Jews conquered the Greeks and reclaimed the Temple in Jerusalem from the Greeks who had desecrated it).
Though the holiday doesn’t typically receive as much participation and significance as Yom Kippur or Rosh Hashanah, many Jews still practice lighting the menorah and other holiday traditions. The menorah is a candle-holder with 9 candles in it (one for each night of Hanukkah plus a “servant” candle). Tonight, 2 candles will be lit, as today marks day 2 of Hanukkah.
In New York City, locals kicked off Hanukkah with the lighting of a giant menorah (12-feet high). The ceremony was dedicated to Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, formerly of Brooklyn, and his wife Rivka who were killed in Mumbai during the terrorist attacks at the Taj Mahaj Palace in Mumbai, India, on November 28.
(As an aside, the rabbi and his wife are survived by two small boys, one of whom was at their side when they were killed. To learn more about them or to help them this holiday season, visit the Holtzberg relief fund Web site.)
Happy Hanukkah!
Copyright 2009 Religion Transcends.