Common Threads: An Interfaith Dialogue

It is so painful to know of the brilliant legacy of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and other paths in China that flourished, and see how religion is so under siege today. And along with these indigenous traditions we can see how Islam and Christianity are also under attack. Dr. Kelly Clark has done extensive research in China over the the years. He's finally published "A Spiritual Geography of Ear...

As I mention in my introduction, I've got a soft spot in my heart for heretics. They tend to be colorful characters with a story to tell. Well, Jacob Frank was no exception. These episodes explore this visionary/cult leader/misbegotten messiah/iconoclast. Seriously. Listen to these conversations with brilliant theologian Jay Michaelson. You'll thank me later. Theme music "Nigal."

Remember back in the day when almost from birth a girl was groomed to become a wife? If so, I'm impressed that you're still alive, because I'm pretty old myself, and I have only the vaguest memories of that world. But in certain cultures this still stands. In these episodes with author Rachel Rueckert, we discuss the challenges of growing up in the LDS with an almost absolute expectation that marr...

Shahan Mufti, who was our guest a few years back, has written a thrilling account of a terrorist takeover of 3 buildings in Washington DC. His book is an impressive of Islam in general, and the Black Muslim movement in the USA in particular. Theme music "Nigal."

Sociologists tell us that marriages tend to be more successful when certain commonalities are present. Religion is one of them. But we all know that marrying outside of one's faith is much more commonplace than in the days of yore. So how do we navigate such unions? One way is to have honest conversations about the challenges that might erupt between spouses. And things that weren't even considere...

There is something special about having access to the private correspondence between thoughtful, literate and spiritually evolved individuals. Mark Taylor and Jack Miles are 2 such people. During the Covid lockdown they wrote to one another regularly. Their insights into religion, politics, life, death and everything in between are compelling and thought provoking. These letters appear in the book...

Once again, I find an ancient cassette tape of 2 episodes we broadcasted back in the early days. I have no idea of when we did these, but surely sometime between 2000-2006. And keep in mind that our guest is local, and discusses meditation sanghas here in West Michigan. Any phone numbers or websites shared are not current. But the insights Robert Walker shares here are worthy of being shared all t...

Longtime listeners will recall how I have been posting hundreds of episodes from the past 20+ years that were on cassette tapes stored in my basement. I thought I was done, but have stumbled across a few more. These are a couple of those. I'm thrilled to have found them, as this conversation with Dr. Dwight Hopkins, who does such a great job of explaining what has come to be known as "Black Theolo...

Some people just walk away from their faiths of birth with no hard feelings. They just...stop. No issues, no problems. But some religions or denominations do make it a challenge. And leaving can have significant challenges. In the past we've exposed the hard work that many who have left Jewish Hasidim communities have had to do as they attempt to reenter mainstream society. In these 2 episodes we...

Carl Plantinga is a professor of film and media at Calvin University, where he has taught since 2000. Carl's books include ‘Screen Stories: Emotion and the Ethics of Engagement;’ ‘Moving Viewers: American Film and the Spectator’s Experience; and Rhetoric and Representation in Nonfiction Film.’ He also co-edited ‘The Routledge Companion to Philosophy and Film’ and ‘Passionate Views: Film, Cognition...

Most of us have never heard of the ancient people known as the Yazidis. It has been only in recent times since the invasion of ISIS that resulted an unmerciful slaughter of so many. Houman Oliaei is a scholar at Kalamazoo College who has lived in Yazidi communities both in the USA and the Middle East. He provides an excellent history, including the theology and culture, of this remarkably resilien...

There are several forces at work to break up India into separate ethno-religious states. The odd thing here is that the vast majority of Sikhs in the Punjab really enjoy being Indian. Yet, there is a small minority that want to create Khalistan, a Sikh theocracy. However, the real problem is that a large number of Sikhs in North America are strong backers of the idea; including those who would hon...

As I say in the beginning of Part 1, I met Lisa at the Council on Foreign Relations conference on Religion & Foreign Policy in 2016. We reconnected at the same event in 2022. Our conversations are expansive, covering everything from her forebears' experience with slavery and indentured servitude, the race issues of today and both the positive and negative effects religion on racial issues and demo...

You don't have to 'be religious' to believe there may be a life after death. The Medium and the Minister explores psychical and religious approaches to the possibility of an afterlife. The tensions and conflicts between these 2 approaches and the heated controversies they have generated are illustrated by a number of case studies. These focus on the challenges posed by psychical research and spiri...

Close to the top of Culture War issues is the concept of Wokeism. It's such a loaded word. And the thing is, it not only riles those on the right, but can be a pain for more progressive people as well. I admit to cringing when I hear people refer to "menstruating people" when referring to those liable to get pregnant. I find "women" is much more pleasant to the ear. James Patterson is on the right...

At 1st glance, it would seem that Jews and Hindus have very little in common. Judaism is known as one of "the great monotheistic religions of the world." How can there be much to talk about with a religion that purportedly has 330,000,000 gods & goddesses? Well, it seems that besides the fact that some of the most devout Hindus have been Jews, there really is much philosophically that binds these...

When we think about the religious communities that offered assistance to the civil rights struggles of the past and present, we don't usually think of Hindus. There is a good reason for that. Nonetheless, there is a connection. In these March 2022 episodes we examine the bridges between the 2 cultures with educator Murali Balaji. Most important is the influence Gandhi had on King and his nonviolen...

As I mention in the introduction to Part 1, it is rare that you find someone from the theist crowd acknowledging that the other camp has something important to say. I was impressed with this book's author in that he does exactly that. Admittedly, many famous atheists pepper their arguments with a good deal of venom. Scott handles this tactic well. Scott Shay is the co-founder and Chairman of Signa...

Today our use of the word "stoic" is so far removed from how it is used classically. I'm so glad our old friend & colleague David Fideler decided to get in touch with us about his new book "Breakfast With Seneca." It's a great introduction to a noble philosophical tradition. Do treat yourself to some high minded discourse in these 2 episodes from 2022. Theme music "Nigal."

I recall really enjoying these 2006 conversations with Rev. Stephen Bauman, who is a pastor for a church in NYC. We discuss the rewards & challenges of being a spiritual leader in the city that never sleeps. By the way, this is the last old cassette that I've been able to find in my basement. Unless anything else shows up, from this point on I'll be uploading only recently broadcast shows. Theme m...

Since Trump never went away like a good ex-president should, we must continue to be vigilant, as his hapless followers are determined to wreak havoc on our democracy. There are many strains of this toxicity. One of the most pernicious is the Christian Nationalism movement. It just ain't going away. In these 2 episodes from March 2022 we speak with Rev. Nathaniel Manderson. He's a Baptist minister...

I am just about done with digitizing these old cassette copies of episodes from the ancient past. I have no honest idea as to the air dates of these. I suspect we're talking about the very early years of the new century. Sometime between 2000-05? Probably. The 1st part is a conversation with Srivas Das, one of the early pioneers of the Hare Krishna movement in Ghana & other African countries. Here...

Boy, do we cover a lot of ground in these 2 episodes! As I state in my introduction to Part 1, over beer & pizza my cousin Andres tells me about this awesome author he's read who he thinks would be a good fit for CT. Man, he was right. Our guest is Dr. Diana Walsh Pasulka author of 'American Cosmic: UFOs, Religion, Technology' and 'Heaven Can Wait: Purgatory in Catholic Devotional and Popular Cult...

We are now hearing and reading about a subject that has been thrown in the back of the closet for decades. The question before us is: Should the descendants of slaves be compensated for the invaluable contributions that their ancestors made to the growth of the USA in our formative years? The various positions taken on this issue come from the arenas of politics, social justice and economics. Here...

These episodes from 2006 were real finds for me. My guests here are Yashwant Pathak & Shekhar Patel from the International Center for Cultural Studies. They make a solid case for protecting the many indigenous cultures around the world that are threatened by ecological intrusion, social upheaval and over-zealous missionaries who are bent on eliminating sacred traditions that have upheld these soci...