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Archive: Julia Neuberger
God Gave us Minds to Use to Improve Life
God gave us minds and hearts and heads, and that it is for us to use that God given intelligence to conduct research that could improve human wellbeing and human life expectancy.
By Julia Neuberger | March 10, 2009; 12:05 AM ET | Comments (17)
Domestic Violence More About Culture Than Religion
Domestic violence has little to do with religions and far more to do with culture and the degree to which violence is acceptable either in the home or in wider society.
By Julia Neuberger | March 3, 2009; 10:41 AM ET | Comments (1)
Even When Our Brother is a Loser
However much we may resent helping those who have been careless and who possibly absolutely delighting in risk taking, we have a duty to help for the sake of society.
By Julia Neuberger | March 3, 2009; 10:37 AM ET | Comments (0)
Ignore Holocaust Deniers, Except...
In most cases, I would argue that ignoring Holocaust deniers is the best thing to do, as it cuts off their publicity hungry life blood -- but not when it comes to the Head of State.
By Julia Neuberger | February 5, 2009; 07:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
Obama's Church Choice His Choice
It seems to me that whether Barack Obama goes to church and where is an entirely personal matter.
By Julia Neuberger | January 5, 2009; 07:59 AM ET | Comments (0)
How "Broad" Are Anglicans?
Whether conservative Episcopalians should leave and form their own denomination or not depends less on their views- clearly different from the mainstream- than on the extent to which it is possible to live with what is literally a 'broad church'.
By Julia Neuberger | January 5, 2009; 07:55 AM ET | Comments (0)
More Pressure to Allow Assisted Suicide
2009 will be a year in which there is greater recognition in their religious world of much of Europe that religion is by no means dead, and, indeed, is reinventing itself and having even greater power to sway people's minds, consciences, and spirit than before- and they will not like it!
By Julia Neuberger | January 1, 2009; 08:03 AM ET | Comments (13)
Don't Be Quick To Judge Candidates
So one should not be too quick to judge people by the company they keep, and in the case of judging anyone by their friends and allies, it is always worth giving them the benefit of the doubt.
By Julia Neuberger | November 24, 2008; 09:35 AM ET | Comments (0)
Obama's Election Put America Back In Front
The election of Barack Obama is one of the most heart warming things to have happened in recent years.
By Julia Neuberger | November 24, 2008; 09:32 AM ET | Comments (0)
Religion Can Empower Women, But Does It?
Women can indeed be empowered by religion, although much of the feminist critique of religion in the 1970s and 1980s suggested they could not.
By Julia Neuberger | November 24, 2008; 09:27 AM ET | Comments (0)
Compassion a Virtue of All Religions
Karen Armstrong's call for a charter is one way of strengthening our awareness of the importance of compassion- I very much hope that she gets a strong response around the world, and that we can build a movement that might make a difference.
By Julia Neuberger | November 24, 2008; 09:23 AM ET | Comments (0)
Leave Religion to God and the Faithful
As so often, writing from the other side of the pond where we have a State church- the Church of England- I am left wondering at how deeply evangelized the USA is with no state church, and how irreligious the British are with a State religion.
By Julia Neuberger | November 24, 2008; 09:19 AM ET | Comments (5)
How Much Greed Can We Justify
What I think we need is a wider debate about what kind of economy we want, how much we justify- and need- greed, and what protection we can put in place to make sure that ordinary people do not suffer too much in what is unfolding.
By Julia Neuberger | September 22, 2008; 08:26 AM ET | Comments (8)
Peculiar and Inconsistent
It has always seemed extraordinary that anyone finds it seriously difficult to think of women leading congregations.
By Julia Neuberger | September 8, 2008; 03:14 AM ET | Comments (7)
From Europe, Curiosity and Admiration
There is clearly serious interest here in Europe in the role religion plays in politics in the U.S., especially given recent comments about Irish Catholic concerns about the non-Christian direction of the EU.
By Julia Neuberger | September 1, 2008; 08:38 AM ET | Comments (8)
Prejudice, Faith Directly Connected
Racial prejudice reflects on one's religious beliefs in one key way- that one is not listening to the word of God and the teaching of all religious teachers if one persists in one's feelings of racial prejudice despite knowing it is wrong.
By Julia Neuberger | August 22, 2008; 06:46 AM ET | Comments (1)
So Rich and Yet So Many Poor
If I had the chance to pose a question to both candidates, it would be this: Are you disturbed by the fact that millions of Americans do not have health insurance coverage?
By Julia Neuberger | August 22, 2008; 06:30 AM ET | Comments (1)
"Collaboration with Tyrrany"
On the book that has most influenced me, I think it is probably David Daube's "Collaboration with Tyranny," a short monograph I read when I was a rabbinical student. It discusses in great detail how people should behave when an...
By Julia Neuberger | July 1, 2008; 08:34 AM ET | Comments (2)
Faith Alone Not Enough
I am utterly convinced that it is more than scientifically proven interventions that improve people's health.
By Julia Neuberger | June 17, 2008; 11:48 AM ET | Comments (1)
The Gifts and Costs of Greed
It cannot be right that disparities between rich and poor are growing. If that's the effect of greed, whatever is does for the economy, it is appalling in its impact on humanity.
By Julia Neuberger | May 30, 2008; 12:33 PM ET | Comments (4)
Try UK's Civil Partnerships
In the UK, we have civil partnerships, which give gay couples the same rights as married couples -- inheritance, insurance, as well as acting as next of kin -- but they have no implications for what many in many religious organizations see as the 'sacred' state of marriage.
By Julia Neuberger | May 26, 2008; 04:14 PM ET | Comments (2)
Pope Rebuilding After Bad Start
The Pope has begun to build bridges with the Islamic world after a disastrous start, but, despite his attempts to build these bridges, it feels as if the hand of friendship is not being stretched out far enough.
By Julia Neuberger | May 2, 2008; 07:57 AM ET | Comments (1)
Church, State and the British Balance
We need faith to be both private and public, and we need to be less precious about how we define where faith fits. If we are truly people of faith, it colors all that we do.
By Julia Neuberger | May 2, 2008; 07:55 AM ET | Comments (1)
You've Got Mail and a Life
E-mail is only really bad if it stops us talking face to face, if we believe technologies can take the place of people engaging with other people.
By Julia Neuberger | March 12, 2008; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (2)
Religious Leaders Also Need Leaders
Often, religious leaders themselves do not realize how much influence they have- they need to use it responsibly, and to inspire their communities, not to be dogmatic with them.
By Julia Neuberger | February 1, 2008; 03:50 AM ET | Comments (1)
Choosing to be Among the Chosen
Jewish communities are stronger than ever, but will need to cry antisemitism less often, and to trade on its strengths, not on a sense of victimhood.
By Julia Neuberger | January 9, 2008; 09:18 AM ET | Comments (7)
We Need More Tell, Less Show
Fewer prayer breakfasts and more public discussion of moral issues with a faith dimension would suit my taste better- and give me less cause for concern that it is all for show.
By Julia Neuberger | January 1, 2008; 05:38 AM ET | Comments (5)
Not Only in America
Sex outside of marriage is a great wrong, a sin. But it is not a political matter and should not be a public matter.
By Julia Neuberger | December 3, 2007; 07:38 AM ET | Comments (5)
A Day to Celebrate Superstition?
Halloween seems to me to beg lots of questions, not least the custom of children 'trick or treating' around the streets of London, becoming an increasing nuisance.
By Julia Neuberger | October 31, 2007; 05:23 AM ET | Comments (25)
Religious Background Should Stay There
Our Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, makes much of being a 'son of the manse'- and his attitudes have been strongly shaped by his Scottish Christian upbringing.
By Julia Neuberger | October 8, 2007; 07:42 AM ET | Comments (8)
Physicians, Heal Others
Physicians' primary obligations are to their patients, without a doubt. They have other obligations, of course, including to wider society, to their professional colleagues, both physicians and other health care professionals, to their employing institutions, and to their own ethical...
By Julia Neuberger | September 5, 2007; 06:54 AM ET | Comments (1)
We All Are Chosen People
My favourite verse- or perhaps verses- are Isaiah chapter 42 verses 6-7. It's really verse 7 I love: I the Lord have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand, and will support you, and set you as a...
By Julia Neuberger | September 5, 2007; 06:52 AM ET | Comments (1)
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...
By Julia Neuberger | September 5, 2007; 06:49 AM ET | Comments (3)
Honesty Best Patient Policy
Physicians' primary obligations are to their patients, without a doubt. They have other obligations, of course, including to wider society, to their professional colleagues, both physicians and other health care professionals, to their employing institutions, and to their own ethical...
By Julia Neuberger | August 10, 2007; 08:15 AM ET | Comments (7)
In UK, Hindus Don't Have a Prayer
It is a very good thing if a Hindu chaplain opens the senate proceedings with prayer. We are just beginning to try to move away from the only prayers (every day, before proceedings start) in the House of the Lords...
By Julia Neuberger | August 6, 2007; 07:45 AM ET | Comments (20)
Pray So You Understand
You pray with intention- you do what you are doing deliberately. If you do not understand, you cannot do that properly.
By Julia Neuberger | July 13, 2007; 10:36 AM ET | Comments (275)
Arrogance Got us There, Keeps us There
The real message of Iraq is that we are arrogant and think we know it all.
By Julia Neuberger | June 25, 2007; 08:27 AM ET | Comments (18)
An Enlightened Approach to Faith
Only by questioning and testing one's faith can one be sure it is robust and worth defending.
By Julia Neuberger | June 16, 2007; 07:31 AM ET | Comments (10)
DO Unto Others
Good works, carrying out God's wishes on this earth, is why we are here in the first place.
By Julia Neuberger | June 11, 2007; 05:58 AM ET | Comments (10)
How Do We Keep Faith in Fellow Man?
How do the Darfuris keep faith with God after all that has happened to them at the hands of their own countrymen?
By Julia Neuberger | June 5, 2007; 06:18 AM ET | Comments (11)
It is How We Deal with the World
What makes us cling to religion is not man-made-- that is the awareness of God within and beyond us.
By Julia Neuberger | May 27, 2007; 09:07 AM ET | Comments (14)
Still So Much to Do
If you feel, as I do, that God has set you here to improve the lives of those who are disadvantaged, you can never be satisfied.
By Julia Neuberger | May 19, 2007; 09:11 AM ET | Comments (3)
To Forgive Each Other is Human
Forgiveness comes from the person who has been wronged.
By Julia Neuberger | April 30, 2007; 07:24 AM ET | Comments (6)
Explore Other Faiths; Be Careful to Return
The boundary is where individuals enters so far into some kind of other faith and religious observance that they lose sight of their own faith.
By Julia Neuberger | April 13, 2007; 08:14 AM ET | Comments (46)
God in Details, Which Media Miss
Unsubtle in its approach, mass media sees extremes as the same as moderate views, orthodox as parallel with liberals, eastern traditions as being polytheistic.
By Julia Neuberger | March 29, 2007; 07:14 AM ET | Comments (17)
Focus on the Here, Not the Hereafter
We had better do as well as we can, and behave as morally and ethically as we can, and not worry about the end of the world.
By Julia Neuberger | March 21, 2007; 08:43 AM ET | Comments (15)
God Save the Queen, but the Roman Catholics?
When our cardinals speak out on religious issues, such as on gay adoption, they get a fairly hostile reception in the press.
By Julia Neuberger | March 15, 2007; 07:09 AM ET | Comments (12)
Religion in Classroom Doesn't Help Pews
The question for the UK is whether teaching religion in schools has helped keep the population faithful. The answer is no.
By Julia Neuberger | March 11, 2007; 09:06 AM ET | Comments (198)
Modern Judaism's View is Open, Generous
The obsession with sexuality, and what people do with their genital organs, is something that is a blot on the reputation of many faiths and sections of those faiths.
By Julia Neuberger | March 2, 2007; 08:48 AM ET | Comments (18)
American Jews Too Quick To Cry 'Anti-Semitism'
As a UK observer, and a Jew I often feel American Jews are too quick to cry 'anti-Semitism.'
By Julia Neuberger | February 22, 2007; 08:50 AM ET | Comments (25)
Prayers of Contemplative Gratitude
Much of my prayer is gratitude and wonderment--gratitude for a fantastic sunset, a beautiful day, an amazing flower, a moving piece of music.
By Julia Neuberger | February 11, 2007; 05:41 PM ET | Comments (4)
West's Waste Causes Environment Damage in Poor Countries
The harshest effects of global warming are felt in the poorest areas of the poorest countries.
By Julia Neuberger | February 1, 2007; 05:11 AM ET | Comments (6)
Full Religious Disclosure on Political Issues
Politicians should tell electorate where they stand religiously, especially on issues of conscience where they might vote according to their faith.
By Julia Neuberger | January 25, 2007; 04:06 PM ET | Comments (29)
Moves For Equality May Have Ancient Roots
There are some hints in the Hebrew Bible of a better situation before the patriarchy that seems ingrained in the text.
By Julia Neuberger | January 18, 2007; 09:45 AM ET | Comments (7)
Iraq Does Not Fit Jewish Tradition of 'Just War'
There is a "Just War" tradition in Judaism but this war does not fit any criteria one might apply.
By Julia Neuberger | January 15, 2007; 11:06 AM ET | Comments (25)
A Grandmother's Last Lesson
She was very clear that she was going to meet her maker, and that she felt calm and resolute.
By Julia Neuberger | January 3, 2007; 12:30 PM ET | Comments (14)
Religious Moderates Need to Speak Up
The moderate voice has been a weak one, allowing both religious extremism and militant atheism to capture the headlines.
By Julia Neuberger | January 1, 2007; 12:57 PM ET | Comments (51)
Jesus Was Inspirational Jewish Teacher
Jesus was critical of the power play indulged in by many Jewish leaders of his day.
By Julia Neuberger | December 20, 2006; 09:01 AM ET | Comments (268)
Parents Should Share Doubts As Well as Beliefs
It would help if they were prepared to talk to their children about their doubts as well as their faith, about the fact that we all worship the same God
By Julia Neuberger | December 6, 2006; 04:30 PM ET | Comments (6)
The View from Britain
I do not know how easy it will be to maintain the national, all-embracing character of Thanksgiving in the US, but I very much hope it will
By Julia Neuberger | November 23, 2006; 03:00 PM ET | Comments (448)
