Interfaith Encounters

Dr. Carroll is half-Guatemalan and was raised bilingual and bicultural. In his youth, he spent many summers in Guatemala and later taught at El Seminario Teológico Centroamericano in Guatemala City for thirteen years. The realities of Central America sparked Dr. Carroll's fascination with the Old Testament. The relevance of the biblical text for the challenges of poverty, war, and politics in thos...

Zahra N. Jamal is Associate Director at Rice University's Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance, and a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Consultant. An award-winning former faculty member at Harvard and MIT, Dr. Jamal was founding director of the Civil Islam Initiative at University of Chicago, founding director of the Central Asia and International Development Initiative at Michigan State, and Asso...

Rev. Jack Amick, Director of Global Migration, United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).  He directs UMCOR’s Global Migration portfolio and represents the global migration work of the General Board of Global Ministries.  In his coordination of Global Migration work, Amick serves on the United Methodist Immigration Task Force, on advisory committees for Church World Service, the board of NJFON,...

A Houston native dedicated to the causes of diversity and women’s empowerment, Manpreet K. Singh is a supervising attorney that has tried over 50 cases.  Currently a Chapter representative for the American Board of Trial Attorneys, she also is serving as a director and trustee with the Sikh Coalition. Recognized in 2018 & 2013 as a recipient for the Diversity First Award.  And in 2011 by the Houst...

Bishop Kelly is a native of Iowa and grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He studied for the priesthood in Holy Trinity Seminary at the University of Dallas here in Irving and was ordained to the priesthood in 1982. He served in several parishes in the Dallas area since then and has served as the Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Dallas since 2016. He has lived in Irving since 2008.   Bishop Ke...

Debra Boudreaux is a senior volunteer with the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation. She has more than 31 years of experience working on major projects related to charity, medical care, education, and humanitarian aid. Debra was previously the CEO of Tzu Chi Medical Foundation. She leads Buddhist and Catholic interfaith dialogues and serves as a member of the UN Multi-Faith Advisory Council. She serves as...

Anwar Khan President of Islamic Relief USA.  He has more than twenty five years of experience working in the field of humanitarian and development assistance. Mr. Khan has extensive experience in the field: he has traveled to five continents visiting more than 20 countries that have been affected by human conflict or natural disaster zones.  Before becoming President, Anwar held a variety of leade...

Julie Rayman, Senior Director of Policy and Political Affairs of the American Jewish Committee helps us understand how Jews relate through their history to migrants and immigrants, and what this means today. Since January 2012, Julie Rayman, Senior Director of Policy and Political Affairs, has served as the lead legislative advocate for AJC’s policy priorities. On behalf of AJC, she has supported...

This episode explores more deeply what it means to be authentic humans in an AI age. A video version is found at http://www.youtube.com/@InterfaithEncounters or http://interfaith-encounters.org.

This episode explores more deeply what it means for humans to think about themselves. What does it mean to be conscious? Self conscious? Can an AI be self-conscious? A video version is found at http://www.youtube.com/@InterfaithEncounters or http://interfaith-encounters.org.

This episode explores more deeply what it means to think of ourselves as biological machines, and where our true humanity might lie. A video version is found at http://www.youtube.com/@InterfaithEncounters or http://interfaith-encounters.org.

This episode explores more deeply how we find our human place in the complex relationships that make up our world. A video version is found at http://www.youtube.com/@InterfaithEncounters or http://interfaith-encounters.org.

This episode explores more deeply what it means to think of our brains as computers, and how computers can be thought of as brains. But is it really that simple?  A video version is found at http://www.youtube.com/@InterfaithEncounters or http://interfaith-encounters.org.

This episode explores more deeply what it means to think of ourselves as intelligent, and where our true humanity might lie. A video version is found at http://www.youtube.com/@InterfaithEncounters or http://interfaith-encounters.org.

This episode explores more deeply what it means to think of ourselves as biological machines, and where our true humanity might lie. A video version is found at http://www.youtube.com/@InterfaithEncounters or http://interfaith-encounters.org.

This episode introduces the ways our human self understanding is taking place. A video version is found at http://www.youtube.com/@InterfaithEncounters or http://interfaith-encounters.org.                      

If we want to know how AI will shape the future we need to think of it less as a computer program and more like infrastructure. Having AI is more like having electricity than like having Microsoft Word. As it is integrated into every task the tasks become easier. I’ve mentioned some of these tasks. But there are many more places that AI is already embedded in daily life. It is speeding up medical...

The Path to Spiritual Growth and Enlightenment In the digital age where distractions are at every turn, the journey towards spiritual growth and enlightenment has never been more crucial. Spiritual direction, a sacred practice that has its roots in ancient traditions, offers a beacon of light to those seeking inner peace, purpose, and connection. This transformative process allows individuals to d...

The Moral Arc of the Universe: A Timeless Quest for Justice Throughout history, the concept that "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice" has resonated deeply with activists, philosophers, and change-makers across the globe. This profound statement, often associated with Martin Luther King Jr., encapsulates the ever-evolving journey of humanity towards fairness, equity...

In recent years, the infusion of artificial intelligence (AI) into various sectors has been transformative, and Christian ministry is no exception. Digital evangelism has been given a new edge with AI-powered chatbots, offering real-time scriptural references, answering theological questions, and providing personalized spiritual guidance. The demand for search terms such as "Christian AI chatbot,"...

Artificial Intelligence (AI), on the other hand, is a cutting-edge technology that has revolutionized various industries and aspects of human life. AI is the simulation of human intelligence in machines, enabling them to perform tasks that typically require human cognitive abilities, such as learning, problem-solving, and decision-making. As AI continues to advance, its impact on society and relig...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Judaism may seem like unlikely bedfellows at first glance, but upon closer examination, one can uncover intriguing connections and discussions.  One of the fundamental questions surrounding AI and Judaism revolves around the concept of human uniqueness. Judaism places a strong emphasis on the belief that humans are created in the image of God, endowing them with a...

Rizwan Khan leads a discussion with two friends, Khosraw Azizi and Maxwell Stephen on their experience with AI. They discuss its effect on the personal lives, their social lives, their school work, and even their professional aspirations. But most of all they wonder if it will erode and even eliminate religious faith and human to human contact. They conclude, to quote Springsteen, that everyone ne...

AI is influencing every aspect of life for university students, not least their religious lives. in this episode three current students discuss the impact of AI on religion - both positively and negatively. They wonder if robots can perform worship, whether bad actors will use AI to distort religion, and whether it might still offer a positive service to religious life. 

Dr. Angela Patterson is a media psychologist who specializes in technology’s effects on religious and spiritual development. A career communicator, Angela worked as a newspaper reporter and corporate/nonprofit communications professional for 13 years before earning her doctorate from media psychology from Fielding Graduate University. Originally from Lubbock, Texas, Angela earned degrees in journa...