American Jews Too Quick To Cry 'Anti-Semitism'
Of course you can be critical of Israel and not be anti-Semitic. It
depends on various things, including the manner and direction of the
criticism.
Interfaith Issues Archives
February 22, 2007 8:50 AM
Comments (25)March 11, 2007 9:06 AM
Religion in Classroom Doesn't Help Pews
In the UK, religious studies are still- technically at least- taught in
every school, and parents have the right to withdraw their children.
There is also a morning assembly, supposed to be religious in tone (it is by
no means always so) and again parents have the right to withdraw their
children.
March 29, 2007 7:14 AM
God in Details, Which Media Miss
The mass media has a problem with religion, partly because it is
extremely bad at teasing out the details of difference.
April 13, 2007 8:14 AM
Explore Other Faiths; Be Careful to Return
No single faith has a monopoly on the truth or even on ways to achieve greater spiritual awareness or spiritual discipline.
July 13, 2007 10:36 AM
Pray So You Understand
There are some who believe that using the same language as one's forebears for prayer is essential- hence many orthodox Jews pray only in Hebrew- or Aramaic- even though we know that at some stages and in some places bits of the vernacular were used- indeed, Aramaic is a case in point. My view is different.
September 5, 2007 6:49 AM
From the Beginning, Obsession with Sex
I think the Lutheran church has been courageous in voting that way, but given the gradual realization that same sex relationships are not anything but what is 'normal' in nature, the question is really why other churches and other faiths have been so vicious in their condemnation and persecution of people in same sex relationships.
If the guidance to all people, gay or straight, is to be faithful, supportive, chaste and morally responsible, then the fact that clergy are living in such relationships- gay or straight- should make no difference.There is one other point. There is a complete obsession with sexual mores in Christianity, in my view, at least in part down to the view that sexual knowledge- and awareness- is part of the Fall of Adam and Eve.
But if you do not recognize the 'Fall' but think the story of Adam and Eve is there to tell us how we got into the real world, then you start from a different standpoint If you then take the view that sex is there for humanity to enjoy and to benefit from, and that all the rules that apply to other forms of behavior- integrity, trust, honesty, faithfulness- apply to sexual relationships, we come to a more sensible approach to sex and its undoubted power to move and compel us to behave in a variety of different ways.
