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 [...]
Happy Birthday, Stella: When Children Die
April 18th, 2013 Today marks Stella Joy Bruner-Methven’s fourth birthday. She died last year, on October 22nd, just days after she turned 3 1/2. Although today is Stella’s birthday, she does not turn four. An egregious tumor, incurable and virtually untreatable, took this birthday from her. And before it did that, it took away almost [...]
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 [...]
Mystical Ponderings of an Atheist: Death
One day I will die, awake and fall upward. I will reach out to touch as I descend through my soul. I will fall. Descending straight through you, mother, filtering my time’s relevance. – Kyle Taylor, 2011 A [...]
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 [...]
After Newtown, a Divine Name for Right Now
The tragic events of last week occurred while Jews were reading a section of the story of Joseph and his brothers which is bursting with bereavement. As I read it through the lens of midrash, this ancient story not only echoes our pain, but may also offer us some hope and guidance. The part of [...]
How Great the Darkness: A Prayer for Newtown
Oh God, how can we ever understand? This is evil wildly beyond comprehension. Are you the one allowing this? Could you have stopped it? Could we have? God, who I believe to be Merciful, who I hope to be Healing: let us know you grieve with us today. Let us feel your tears on our [...]
Worthy is the Cat: Reflections on Feline Mortality and Psychological Mercy
More so than when beloved humans in my life have died, as I prepare for my cat’s death I find myself needing to believe—against any rational argument, against my significant philosophical problems with dualism, and even against my own tradition’s famous ambivalence about an afterlife—that she has a soul, that that soul will somehow persevere after her death, and that some day, I will see her again.
On Being with Dying: A Story of Squirrels and Little Girls
At an evening party some friends of mine threw last spring, two friends came up to me and asked for my help with an infant squirrel they’d found in their yard that seemed nearly dead. I quickly followed them to the basement where they’d placed the squirrel in a box with some leaves and well-meant [...]
Contributing Scholars
Edward AndersonGraduate of Morehouse College with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Currently studying Inter-religious studies at Claremont Lincoln University/ Claremont School of Theology. Interested in Christian mysticism, philosophy, political science, pluralism, pop-culture and post-colonialism.
Alex WeissmanAlex Weissman is a community organizer, performer, and rabbinical student. In addition to his rabbinical studies, he works as a hospice chaplain and a mentor to teenagers involved in multifaith dialogue. He has worked with Jewish and queer communities over the last ten years around issues of HIV/AIDS, domestic workers' rights, substance use, partner abuse, and queer youth homelessness. He believes deeply in sacred listening as a practice for healing, building relationships, and pursuing justice. Originally from the Philadelphia area, Alex has returned after ten years away to attend the Reconstrucionist Rabbinical College.
Funlayo WoodFunlayo is an initiated Orisa priestess dedicated to contributing her voice as a scholar-practitioner of her tradtion. A writer, public speaker, avid traveler and lover of life, she is currenlty pursuing a PhD in African Studies and Religion at Harvard University where she is a Junior Fellow at the Center for the Study of World Religions. Visit her at www.AseIre.com.