Category: Interfaith
Sugar Cookies & Family Heritage
4 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 sticks of butter. Combine these 3 ingredients with your hands. Add some sugar, 1 teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in milk, 2 eggs, and vanilla. Mix well, roll o... Read More
Religious Interactions, Pop Culture, & Historical Imagination (Spoiler Alert)
Religious themes currently permeate the film and television industries in the United States. The film Noah still floats toward the top of the charts leading to interesting conversations about authen... Read More
Why would a synagogue invite a Muslim woman speaker? Why not?
I must admit that it is unusual for a Muslim woman to speak at a synagogue; hence no wonder that many people would want to know more about such a story. But for me, the invitation by Congregation Beth... Read More
Unity Through Diversity
“What options are there for those who want to recognize that there is a higher power but don’t fit into organized religion?” This question is common in the circles I travel. Many of my friends a... Read More
An Argument for Santa Claus
I once wrote a paper on why I believe in Santa Claus. The argument, in a nutshell, went something like this: human life consists not just of physicality but of that for which we live. If this is true,... Read More
Who is my neighbor? (Syria edition)
As the conflicts in Syria and Iraq have become increasingly sectarian over the last few years, feeding off one another’s dynamics and international rhetoric and involvement, stories about the pe... Read More
The Aga Khan and the Human Connection
Following my previous post on putting the Aga Khan’s speech at Brown in a historical context, I want to spend some time on his discussion of technology and human interaction. Rather than speaking on... Read More
Unreconcilable Beliefs: Humanism, Witches, and Human Rights
Before I went to Ghana I had no idea there were witches there. For me, witchcraft accusations were of historical interest, not a contemporary concern. How wrong I was. Witchcraft accusations are very ... Read More