Category: Academic
Your books, your reflections: The frames we use for our learning
From Frankenstein to The New Jim Crow and Whose Gospel, you delved into the questions that shape your work as communal leaders. I am left with questions about what frames religious and ethical leaders... Read More
Rev. Frankenstein: Seminary and Chasing the Monster
When I first read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, I knew I would never be the same. I was a 21-year-old English major completely enthralled with Gothic literature, but nothing prepared me for the mon... Read More
Museum or Memorial, and Why It Matters: Thoughts on Religious Symbolism
Should the 9/11 cross be housed at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum? Ultimately, it's a question of symbolic function...... Read More
Identity and Pluralism
This week, we are fortunate to send along the first “Topic of the Week,” culled and compiled by State of Formation’s Special Projects Committee. With a new topic each week, we hope t... Read More
Getting Stuck in Clay: An Interfaith Reflection
This post was originally published on Huffington Post Religion. This is my first trip to Europe. I’ve had the chance to rent a bike and tour around the beautiful English countryside that surroun... Read More
The Need for and Importance of Dialogue of Life in Community Building: The Case of Selected West African Nations
This paper discusses dialogue of life under five main thematic areas. After a definition of dialogue of life the paper goes on to discuss dialogue of life in general, the need for dialogue of life, th... Read More
‘History Centrism’: A Challenge to Abrahamic Faiths
It was a moment of crisis for Yeminite Jews. They were being persecuted by extremists of the Zaidi branch of Shiite Islam and forced to convert — with the explicit threat of death if they refuse... Read More
Two Ways Through Life: Reflections on The Tree of Life
Last week an old friend insisted that I see Terrence Malick’s recent film, The Tree of Life. The film instructs us from the beginning that we must choose which way we will follow through life, the w... Read More