The Spirituality of Learning
Christian Scientists think of angels as bright ideas. Angels are moments of clarity and expanded consciousness, moments of fresh vision and creativity, broadened perspective, and infusions of loving inspiration. Christian Scientists, who think of God as pure Mind, a divine principle of loving consciousness, see the intellect as a portal of revelation. I come from [...]
Why Monty Python Makes for Good Religion: Reflections on Religion and Film, Part 3
(This is Part 3 of a 3-part series. See Part 1 and Part 2) OFFENSE Jesus was most recently portrayed in celluloid form by a Portuguese model with great hair. I’m talking about The Bible, a miniseries broadcast on The History Channel. In it we learn that Jesus was gentle and strong; that Jews really [...]
Why Monty Python Makes for Good Religion: Reflections on Religion and Film, Part 2/3
(This is Part 2 of a 3-part series. See Part 1 here.) AUTHORITY There is another hot issue in a discussion about religion and the Bible: the question of who has authority over the telling of a narrative? How about The Bible miniseries on The History Channel? It’s a very confident little piece, isn’t [...]
Why Monty Python Makes for Good Religion: Reflections on Religion and Film, Part 1/3
Humor; humor is difficult. Religion; religion is difficult. They can both be reassuring, and discomfiting. They can affix labels, or they can liberate. They can be subversive, or they can uplift the dominant paradigm. Both can be thrilling and boring. They can be unifying, or alienating. Religion and humor both aspire to help us live [...]
The Election of the New Hope: Dispatch from Rome
Last night I went to Saint Peter’s Square in Rome. I hoped to to see the black smoke of the papal conclave. I figured the dark puff would roil out from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and the sorry crowd would disperse into the dusk. I heard the smoke would disperse around 4:30pm so [...]
What’s the Big Deal About Interfaith Marriage?
I attended the 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne, Australia. I was amazed by the preponderance of sacred fashion statements (the hats!), the number of New Age practitioners from the North American West Coast, and the ubiquity of the phrase “interfaith dialogue.” As former chair of the Union Theological Seminary Interfaith Caucus, a [...]
How Paul Tillich Helped Me Matter
I recently received an email from the fine editorial staff at State of Formation informing me that I am officially a lapsed contributor and my posting account might be deleted. This is very true. I have lapsed in my public reflections about all things religious. When I ask myself why I lapsed, my answers are [...]
Multiple Belonging: Thoughts on Belonging to More Than One Religion
I am in the process of articulating how I can be both Christian and Jewish without being a “Jew for Jesus.” Many people hail from a smattering of religious influences and heritages. The current model of religious identification has us choose one or none. But there has to be an intellectually credible, spiritually legitimate way [...]
A Failed Interfaith Encounter at Starbucks
Here is a story about why deep thinking about religious pluralism doesn’t get you out of tight spots with actual people. The scene: I am at a Starbucks in San Diego sipping my giant American coffee and dutifully researching the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius. I mention this detail perhaps too loudly on my cell [...]
Culinary Pluralism; or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Olive
I was once what adults called a picky eater. There were only certain colors I would eat. The beige family is the most reliable, and it also encompasses most bread-based breakfast foods (rainbow-colored food coloring foods are also safe). There were only certain textures I would eat: melted cheese and bread-based foods. Anything extreme, like [...]
Jenn Lindsay
Jenn Lindsay is a PhD student in Boston University's Division of Religious and Theological Studies, where she studies how religion affects personal relationships, particularly interreligious relationships. She earned her Masters Degree at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where her program focus was Interfaith Relations and she served as co-chair of the Interfaith Caucus and the student senate Minister of Fun. She hails from San Diego and worked for a decade in New York City as an independent musician and filmmaker.
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Contributing Scholars
Paul Joseph GreenePaul Joseph Greene is attending the second year of his doctoral program, seeking a Ph.D. in systematic theology at Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota. "Let's talk interreligiously about liberation, identity, power, privilege, creative transformation, process, politics, and Glee! And by virtue of our relationship, let's become a new creation together."
Andrew TwitonAndrew Twiton is the pastoral intern at Lutheran Church of Christ the Redeemer in Minneapolis and a Master of Divinity student at Luther Seminary. You can connect with him on Twitter @atwiton.
Zachary BailesBlogger, Community Organizer, and public speaker engaging the intersection of faith and public life. May 2012 M.Div. Graduate at Wake Forest University School of Divinity.