Social Futures: Tackling Poverty in Medicine
Today the nursing staff held a birthday party for a patient. The party was not to celebrate with her, but to cheer on her departure from the service. She had moved into a new age bracket, and as a result, would receive care on the far side of campus. Her details are important insofar as [...]
After Auschwitz, What?
After Auschwitz, no theology: From the chimneys of the Vatican, white smoke rises — a sign the cardinals have chosen themselves a Pope. From the crematoria of Auschwitz, black smoke rises — a sign the conclave of Gods hasn’t yet chosen the Chosen People.1 –Yehuda Amichai On Yom HaShoah, the Jewish day to mourn [...]
What is a Sword?
In my last post, I showed how Christian supporters and critics of gun control read the Bible with a common assumption: that wherever it speaks about ‘swords,’ it teaches us about weapons in general, and therefore about guns. Swords are equivalent to guns. This arises from a commendable desire to make the Bible applicable in [...]
Mining our Political Past for Spiritual Sustenance
A few weeks ago, I completed my final assignment from my third semester of rabbinical school (which ended in January). I’m not one to put things off like that, but this was a special assignment. It involved sitting in a Brooklyn apartment with close to twenty young Jews (and maybe a couple non-Jews?) studying the [...]
Beyond our life of Pi: Encountering multiple religious belonging and comparative theology with Francis Xavier Clooney, S.J.
I remember reading Life of Pi by Yann Martel several years ago and how my heart would resonate with each experience of the sacred by the story’s brave protagonist, a Tamil boy from Pondicherry, through his adventurous openness to spirituality beyond the borders of one religion. This story that became the Oscar-winning movie is more than [...]
Taking Time: Health and Ministry
It is about that time in the academic calendar at my seminary where we are halfway through the semester and the influx of homework that always seem to accumulate around this time of the year. For many of my classmates, our mid-semester break lines up with Holy Week, perhaps one of the busiest times of [...]
“Political Theology or Theological Politics: Paradox at the Heart of Democracy,” by Shane Akerman
Several paradoxes are intrinsic to the democratic project. This essay will confront what Bonnie Honig refers to as the paradox of politics (or, the paradox of democratic legitimation).[1] Honig asks the Rousseauean question of which comes first: good people (who make good law) or a good law (that defines good people)? In other words, where [...]
My spring break: from faith clubs to the interfaith social movement
Last year, while I was still a student in rabbinical school and serving as advisor to Jewish students at Haverford College, I helped to organize and staff an Interfaith Encounters alternative spring break trip run by the Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia. I found the experience so meaningful that even though I no longer serve [...]
Palingenesia: You Might be a Lord… But Here Comes the King
Have you heard about Snoop Dogg becoming Snoop Lion? Last year, Snoop Dogg announced his new persona starting with his own Reincarnation. He was no longer going to be the rabble-rousing gangster rapper, but a Rastafarian with a new message. Snoop Lion is here to spread the message of Love over Hate. Yeah, it seems [...]
Jessie Post On Building Relationships with those from Different Traditions
Managing Director’s Note: beginning in the Spring of 2013, all Contributing Scholars will answer the following question as their first post: Why are you committed to building relationships with those from different religious or ethical traditions? I was raised on the outskirts of New York City by a secular Jew and a former Episcopalian. My [...]
Contributing Scholars
Sarah J. Blake LaRoseSarah J. Blake LaRose is an ordained minister with the Church of God (Anderson, IN) whose special areas of interest are biblical languages, ministry with seekers, and equipping the church to include people with special needs. Sarah is the author of two chapters in Discipleship that Transforms: An Introduction to Christian Education from a Wesleyan/Holiness Perspective, published in 2011 by Warner Press. She presented a paper with Lauren Tuchman entitled "Using Technology to Meet the Needs of Biblical Language Scholars Who Are Blind" at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in San Francisco in 2011.
Andy CookAndy Cook, 24, has a longstanding interest in religion, spirituality, and civic engagement. Growing up in the Conservative Jewish tradition, Andy learned from an early age the importance of asking questions, knowing why one believes what they do, and placing importance on the work of improving our world.
Aaron StaufferAaron Stauffer is a second year MDiv student at Union Theological Seminary in NYC with a focus in Ethics. Passionate about developing communities and building power in civic society, Aaron worked as an IAF organizer through the Young Adult Volunteer of the PC(USA) program in 2010-2011, is currently doing his Field Education with the Poverty Initiative at Union and works for Religions for Peace USA, while remaining active with the Student Christian Movement NYC. He finds himself continually drawn to local, organized responses to deep economic, political disenfranchisement and oppression. He blogs regularly at aaronkstauffer.tumblr.com