Blitzer, Vitsmun, and Authentic Interfaith Dialogue
Wolf Blitzer – prized journalist for CNN – made what some are affectionately referring to as a ‘teachable moment’ when he asked an atheist survivor (Rebecca Vitsmun) of the Moore, OK tornado: ‘You’ve gotta thank the Lord, right? Do you thank the Lord for that split-second decision?’ ‘I – I’m actually an atheist,’ Vitsmun replies. Noticeably tripped-up, Blitzer [...]
Home
Home is a concept that has little to do with a physical building, but everything to do with the emotional, psychological and spiritual space that we each occupy. We live in this space no matter where we are geographically, and no matter what dwelling we inhabit. Still, there is something to be said about the physical structure [...]
It’s Time to Let Jews, Muslims, and Sikhs Join the Military
This piece was originally published on The Daily Beast. The rash of hate crimes following the Boston Marathon bombings reminds us of the major challenges religious minorities face in this country. Last week a taxi passenger in Northern Virginia verbally and physically attacked his driver for being “a fucking Muslim.” The victim, Mohamed Salim, who [...]
Compassion: Do Not Kill Buddha, Thou would bury the dead.
“If you see the Buddha on the road, kill him.” This phrase may sound shocking, considering the Buddha’s teachings of the Noble Eightfold Path that talks about “right” (in harmony with the teachings) action and speech, including “speak only words that do not harm.” To kill is indeed a strong word that invokes violence and [...]
Living In and Through Tragedy
It has been a tough week to be in Boston. It is almost as hard to add anything to all that has been written about the tragedy, confusion, and sadness that the week brought to Boston and to the world as it looked on. Two seemingly contradictory themes stood out for me, first in my [...]
Responding to Tragedy: Insights from Lutheran History
Lutherans have the unique distinction of being the only mainline Protestant denomination named after its founder. While other denominations take their name from their church structure (Presbyterians, Congregationalists), geography (Moravians), or reappropriated pejorative terms (Methodists), Lutherans take their name from a single theologian. This was not by Luther’s design, either. During his life, Luther vehemently [...]
Engaging Compassion: Boston and the interrelatedness of our own actions.
Boston. Baghdad. New York. Kabul. Tel Aviv. Gaza… Syria… Burma… Rwanda… Tibet… the sorrow of violent tragedies that I have learned in my generation seems to have crossed all the borders. The reality is that there are no borders, even if we try to build the walls and fences that separate us. Hurt, like love, [...]
In Gratitude and Solidarity: A Love Letter to Boston from A Former Student
Dear Boston, I owe you so much. I really do. You are the place where my interfaith journey began. At the beginning of my freshman year at Boston University, I never met anyone who wasn’t a Christian of some sort. I was already interested in other faiths, but *knowing* people of other faiths turned an [...]
Pacem in Terris and Mercy Mild
With almost daily reminders that War is Coming, it gets hard to imagine an alternative. Over the last month our media has been banging the drums of war suggesting that Kim Jong-un is borderline psychotic and is ready, at any moment, to drop a bomb. With images of their prison camps, videos of their propaganda, [...]
Pope Francis: How to Make New Artifacts from Old Power
“We have many experts on the terrain of conflict, but not many leaders. Good Christian leadership radiates a very different presence in a broken world.” I came across these words by Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice—from their 2008 book entitled Reconciling All Things—the day after Pope Francis raised the Christian practice of foot-washing to new [...]
Contributing Scholars
Jessie PostJessie Post is a first year student at Harvard Divinity School. Her interests include religion in literature, Islamic Studies, Quakerism, interfaith dialogue, and the place of those outside organized faith traditions in contemporary American spiritual life. Jessie graduated from Haverford College in 2009.
Andrew BowenAndrew Bowen, once a fervent enemy of religion, is now a perpetual student and champion for inter-religious peace and reconciliation. In 2011, Andrew created Project Conversion, a year-long personal immersion into the culture, practices, beliefs, and rituals of 12 belief systems from around the world as a personal intervention after years of animosity toward faith.
Yaira RobinsonYaira is Jewish, married, and mother to two boys who make her laugh every day. As Associate Director of the Texas Interfaith Center for Public Policy, she works with Texas religious communities to promote social and environmental justice. She recently completed her Master's of Theological Studies at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Yaira is fueled by gratitude, laughter, and sometimes unhealthy amounts of coffee.