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 [...]
Finding the Divine on the Road
At the ripe young age of 15, I contracted a chronic affliction: the travel bug, that continual burning desire to go somewhere new, to experience something new. Those who suffer from this affliction know that it is a constant cycle of being in the midst of an expedition or planning the subsequent trip once they [...]
What I Learned About God by Ice Skating with My Boyfriend
My boyfriend and I live 307 miles apart (thank you, Google maps, for your precision). Long distance is not the easiest way to start a relationship, let alone to maintain it. When we manage to sneak a weekend together amidst our busy schedules (we both often work weekends), the time together always seems too short [...]
Finding God in the Flu
It’s 12:02 AM. I took NyQuil and still can’t sleep. I’m tossing and turning with the heat on high and the humidifier on low. I have more NyQuil sitting on the windowsill by my bed, should I wake up after 5AM and still feel feverish. Last I checked, the thermometer read 100.6. This is one [...]
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 [...]
Why, God? Grasping for Control, Praying for Grace
A man armed with guns walked into an elementary school and killed many people, most of whom were children. My hands shake even just typing such words. The news reports are still being updated, and the social media world is alive with commentary. I picked up my copy of the New York Times yesterday and [...]
Theology of the Body, Episode I: The Orans Gesture in Christian Prayer
This is the first installment in an ongoing series that will explore issues in spirituality through a review of significant symbolic motions, poses, and gestures from a variety of religious traditions. Throughout human history, the heart’s longing for religious enlightenment has spawned many practices associated with the active contemplation of and interaction with the bodies [...]
The Feast – Finding Common Ground in Abraham’s Legacy
On the 26th of October 2012, it was the Feast (or Eid ul Adha) symbolizing the culmination of the pilgrimage by Muslims to Mecca (the Hajj). These few days of light and love are supposed to characterise meditation, blessings and prayers for peace. It also serves as a symbol of unity in diversity as Malcolm [...]
Standing Together: What I Learned with Muslims About My God, My Faith, and Myself
Overcoming My Fears with Faith Last year our pastor, Ryan Bell, invited members of our church to participate in a ten-week dialogue with Muslims from a local mosque. He explained that we’d be working with curriculum from a program called Standing Together, which provided videos, questions and conversation topics for our bi-monthly interfaith meetings. We’d meet [...]
Why Jesus’ wife matters to me
The writing prompt in this week’s digest to State of Formation scholars asked, “Does it matter that Jesus may have had a wife?” I was surprised by the strength of my own response: a gray, hard-as-nails voice that answered, It matters to me. It matters to me has been running through my head since the existence [...]
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.
C. Nikole SaulsberryA 2009 Syracuse University Alumna, Nikole is currently serving an AmeriCorps term with New Sector Alliance, Inc. as a Resident in Social Enterprise. Her interfaith work is focused on fostering religious pluralism through simultaneous efforts of common action, policy engagement, liberation theology and hermeneutics of social justice.
Mark Randall JamesMark Randall James is a PhD student in religious studies at the University of Virginia. His work focuses on Jewish and Christian interpretation of Scripture and the distinctive rationalities of scriptural religious traditions.