Common Threads: An Interfaith Dialogue

Here we go again! As mentioned recently, I discovered a trove of old recordings on CD and cassette tape that I was not aware of. So now I'm posting these here. These episodes of Common Threads originally aired in 2007. They have to do with the very "Jewishness" of Jesus. The book in question is "The Halakhah of Jesus of Nazareth According to the Gospel According to St. Matthew." Scholars agree tha...

Hey All, we've got ourselves a blast from the past! For those of you who have been following us for a few years you might recall that not long after we started podcasting we decided to go into The Vault and grab as many old analog recordings that survived over the decades, digitize them and add to our podcast library. So if you're not aware already, keep scrolling down and you'll see episodes from...

Born in the Old City of Sana’a, Yemen, to a pair of middle-class doctors, Mohammed Al Samawi was a devout Muslim raised to think of Christians and Jews as his enemy. But then he started connecting with Jews and Christians on social media, and at various international interfaith conferences, Mohammed became an activist, making it his mission to promote dialogue and cooperation in Yemen. Due to his...

This is a conversation between Dr. Hussein and GVSU Professor Eric Covey, facilitated by Frankel Center's Interim Director for 2025-26, Deborah Dash Moore. Their discussion will be followed by a dessert reception. Drawing from his upcoming book, Hebrew Orientalism: Jewish Engagement with Arabo-Islamic Culture in Late Ottoman and British Palestine, Dr. Hussein will explore how Jewish writers in lat...

Just about everyone knows the word "karma." It's so popular that products and companies are using it. But to simply say "what goes around comes around" is a bit too simplistic to describe a doctrine that has influenced civilizations for millennia. In his new book ‘Karmic Relief’ author Phil Goldberg provides the deep detail underlying this concept in a way that is understandable by both theologian...

The Gospel COMPARATIVE is an innovative new book that enables anyone to read all 4 gospels simultaneously as one story. This is done in a clear, easy-to-read design that presents all four of the canonical gospels at the same time. Additionally, it provides a side-by-side, line-by-line comparative that seamlessly integrates with the storytelling process. Several things combine to make the design of...

10 years ago the nation experienced a powerful tragedy when a radicalized racist opened fire in the sanctuary of Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Located in Charleston, South Carolina, Mother Emanuel is often considered the jewel in the crown of historical Black churches. In his book Mother Emanuel: 2 Centuries of Race, Resistance and Forgiveness in one Charleston Church, Kevin S...

The Kaufman Interfaith Institute has several affiliates. The Interfaith Dialogue Association, which produces Common Threads, is certainly one. Another newer addition to our family of multi-faith engagement is Interfaith Photovoice, an organized effort that encourages people of different faith backgrounds to use their phones and cameras to document their personal spiritual journey and share the int...

The ancient Mediterranean teemed with gods. For centuries, a practical religious pluralism prevailed. How, then, did one Deity come to dominate the politics and piety of the late Roman Empire? In ‘Ancient Christianities,’ Paula Fredriksen traces the evolution of early Christianity, or rather, of early Christianities through five centuries of Empire, mapping its pathways from the hills of Judea to...

As Christianity began as a sect of Judaism, Jainism was once considered a branch of Hinduism. These religions continue to share a great deal of theology, history and ritual. Yet, Jains do most often claim an identity separate from Hindus. In this episode Fred speaks with Monica Shah, Director of Education for the Jain Society of Metropolitan Washington. They discuss the intricacies of this ancient...

n 2024 Programs Podcast Topics Schedule Community Calendar Contact Common Threads Pew Research Center Religious survey By Fred Stella Published June 30, 2025 at 8:54 AM EDT Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Print Jonathan Evans David Hills / Courtesy Pew Research Center Jonathan Evans Fred Stella speaks with Pew senior researcher Jonathan Evans What is the state of religion in the world? For decades...

American democracy is in danger. How do we protect it from authoritarian reactionary Christianity? On January 6, 2021, hundreds of Americans stormed the Capitol to prevent the certification of their political opponent’s election. At the forefront were Christians claiming to act in the name of Jesus Christ and his supposed representative on earth, Donald Trump. How can this have happened? David P....

Millions of people practice yoga, attracted to the mat by its promise of physical and mental benefits, social connection, and spiritual nourishment. Promoted as a way of healing the body and mind from wounds inflicted by the world, modern yoga may be a critique of the social order – an “anti-world” to which practitioners escape. Yet yoga can never free itself entirely from the compromises and cont...

Creating Jesus is a book for general readers on the Gospel of Mark as the earliest surviving witness of the life of Yeshua ("Jesus" in Aramaic) of Nazareth. Dennis Kennedy applies his expertise in literary and performance studies to examining Mark as a literary and historical document and describes in straightforward style how it differs from the other Gospels, what it meant in its time, and how i...

Science is studying ghosts? Really? In Life with Ghosts, a documentary film festival winner, a widow suffering prolonged grief agrees to participate in a research study that aims to reconnect bereaved survivors with their departed loved ones. The process is known as Induced After-Death Communication (IADC), and it is rapidly gaining recognition among psychologists, academics and bereavement profes...

Alex Duensing, founder of Terran Judaism, joins us Most non-Jews who have any familiarity with Judaism will tell you there are 3 specific movements within the religion: Orthodox, Conservative & Reform. But there are several more. And now a new one has entered the arena: Terran Judaism. The word "Terran" indicates that is it is "from the earth." That is, they seek to expand the faith well beyond th...

If they only taught this in Religion classes! I promise students would be way more engaged. In these episodes we dive into the fascinating and overlooked aspects of the Catholic faith with Michael Lichens, the author of The Weird Catholic Handbook. We’ll examine peculiar and intriguing elements of Catholic history, offering a refreshing perspective on the faith that combines humor, curiosity, and...

No matter how some people try to deny it, we humans are very tribal. And for the most part, that can be a good thing if we will forego any sense of tribal superiority. So if one is excommunicated from a tribe the mental and spiritual toll can be significant. In her book ‘Ghosted’ Nancy French describes her upbringing in a Fundamentalist Christian church and early alliance with conservative Republi...

With the exile of Syria's Bashar Al-Assad recently, much interest has been focused on the sect of Islam of which he was a member. However, there are some who claim that the denomination known as Alawite is not Islam at all, but a heretical break-off sect. To understand this somewhat intricate situation we speak with Dr. Stefan Winter who has studied religion in Syria and Turkey for decades. Stefan...

Our guest is Ryan Armstrong, author of The Book of Job in Wonderland Of all of the great works of literature that might be compared, the idea of setting the text of the Book of Job next to the 19th century classic Alice in Wonderland probably doesn't come to mind. But Religious Studies professor Ryan Armstrong did notice more than a few links between them and presents them in his book The Book of...

One of the most imaginative traditions in Judaism is called "Midrash." While the word is used in a few different ways, in this episode we are referring to that practice of taking biblical stories and "filling in the blanks" with imagined conversations, prequels and sequels. For instance, what might Adam and Eve discussed after leaving Eden? How might Sarah have reacted upon learning that Isaac was...

In this episode we discuss a new film biography of Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin with its producer/director Frank Frost. This remarkable man was a paleontologist and visionary French Jesuit priest. His lifelong effort to reframe his beliefs in the light of evolution led to a paradigm shift in the relationship of science and religion. Teilhard foresaw the emergence of the internet, globalization,...

Today we discuss the autobiography that traces Francis X. Clooney's intellectual and spiritual journey from middle-class American Catholicism to a lifelong study of Hinduism. It explains how he came to fashion comparative theology as a way of learning interreligiously that is boldly intellectual and deeply personal and practical, lived out in intersections of his roles as theologian and scholar of...

In his new book Honest to God, Rev. John Hamilton provides us with an intimate look at the spiritual journey of an individual who has experienced life from many corners. From the carefree life of a rock n' roll musician, to a "Madmen" style of life on Madison Avenue to being ordained in the United Church of Christ. In this episode he discusses not only his sacred search, but also the state of Chri...

Dr. Lauren Horn Griffin discusses White Christian Nationalism and so-called "Trad Catholic Men" With the current election in the rear-view mirror now, the pundits are now piecing together what worked for one candidate and didn't for the other. One element that played large in the campaign is the role of White Christian Nationalism. Here we interview Dr. Lauren Horn Griffin from Louisiana State Uni...