I wanted to write a quick post about one of the papers on the panel I responded  to this afternoon.  [I’m at the American Academy of Religion meeting this weekend.]  The paper was titled “Memorializing Pregnancy Loss in American Catholicism and Japanese Buddhism,” by Maureen Walsh.  It  was a really, really interesting paper!  This was…… Continue reading Reflections on Pregnancy Loss–in Japan and the US

I read this interesting post this morning by my dear friend Richard Payne:  Dharma talk during the Eitaikyo.  In it, he shares a summary of the dharma talk he gave during the annual eitaikyo service held every fall at the Institute for Buddhist Studies.  This service sounds to my Christian ears similar to our All Saints…… Continue reading All Saints Day and the Eitaikyo

Today is November 9th, and if you know anything about German history, you know this is a monumental day for Deutschland.  The evening of November 9th, 1938 has come to be known as Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass, and in many ways, it is considered to be the actual beginning of the Holocaust. On the…… Continue reading November 9th, for Good or for Ill–or for Both

What’s your “comfort food” memory of childhood?  Most of us have at least one:  for me, it’s fried egg sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies.  Many parents welcome home children with special meals, because for everyone involved, that food carries strong connotations of love and family.For Oliver Sacks, that food was gefilte fish, the special dish…… Continue reading Gefilte Fish and Memories of Childhood

I’m back in my hotel, getting ready to fly home tomorrow.  The Parliament goes through tomorrow, but I need to get back–so my Parliament is over.  So this will be my last post, and serve as kind of a wrap-up.Let me start with a few miscellaneous pictures.  I think I mentioned [and included a picture] of the…… Continue reading Parliament, Day 3

So, it’s actually day three today–my last day at the Parliament, so I’ll be reflecting on the whole Parliament either later today or tomorrow, but in this post, I wanted to share just a few things from last night’s plenary.The first observation I want to make comes from the remarks of Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan.…… Continue reading Parliament, Day 2.5

I’m cheating a bit and writing my blog before the day is over, but I will be attending a plenary tonight, and I know by the time I get home, I will just want to go right to bed!  So, if I have anything to add from the rest of today, I’ll share it tomorrow.So,…… Continue reading Parliament, Day 2

So, the challenge always is to get in and out of these posts without taking forever! Today was a great day, but I’m exhausted tonight, and I have to be up so early tomorrow:  there is a Yoruba service at 7:00 am I want to attend.  So, here are the highlights!I presented this morning from…… Continue reading Parliament, Day 1

Today I leave for the Parliament of the World’s Religions, which will be held back in the United States for the first time in more than 20 years. [We’ll be in Salt Lake City this year.]  This is the second Parliament I will have attended–I went to the last Parliament, which was held in 2009…… Continue reading The Parliament of the World’s Religions: A Great Cloud of Witnesses

I’ve just concluded what I hope is only the first round of an ongoing series of podcast interviews with some scientists from Gettysburg College.  [Most of them haven’t aired yet, but when they do, you can find them here:  The Seminary Explores.]  The impetus for this little series was the AAAS grant Gettysburg Seminary received…… Continue reading Theology and Science, and why every Theologian Should Put on a Scientist’s Glasses [at least once in awhile]