This weekend, tune in to State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, to hear a leading rabbi’s take on the future of Judaism, to learn how one minister thinks we should settle the conflict between science and religion, and to find out: what’s a “Twible”?
“Reanimating” Judaism
Among Jewish leaders, there seems to be serious cause for concern over the future of the Jewish faith. While the Western Wall in Jerusalem is meant to be a space for spiritual healing, it has also long been a site of chaos and conflict as conservative voices loudly oppose the equal presence of women in active ritual. Meanwhile, a significant percentage of young American Jews seem increasingly detached from the ancient Jewish traditions. Deeply involved in both of these issues, Rabbi Sharon Brous joins Welton on the show this week to discuss what it means to be “reanimating Jewish life through soulful religious and spiritual practice that is rooted in a deep commitment to social justice.” Rabbi Brous is the founding rabbi of IKAR in Los Angeles and is the first woman to be named “America’s Most Influential Rabbi” by the Daily Beast.
God Revised: How Religion Must Evolve in a Scientific Age
Are you on Team Science or Team Religion? Whether it’s efforts to inject religion-based “intelligent design” curriculum into science classrooms, or resist social progress in the name of a conservative set of faith values, there’s a mighty struggle going on in our culture between belief and knowledge. But Dr. Galen Guengrich, author of God Revised: How Religion Must Evolve in a Scientific Age, believes that we don’t have to pick sides in this epic battle between religion and science. Dr. Guengrich is on this edition of State of Belief to discuss how we can — and must — reconcile our physical reality with ancient scripture. Dr. Guengrich is a senior minister of All Souls Unitarian Church, a historic congregation located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City.
The “Twible”
Many attribute our short attention spans, lack of communication skills and need for instant gratification to the evils of technology. But can it bring a new perspective to that most ancient of texts – the Bible? Jana Riess, a writer, editor, scholar and Twitter-aficionado would argue that technology can be used for spiritually uplifting, educational and humorous purposes. Over the past three years, Jana has compressed the Old and New Testaments into 140 character tweets, altogether comprising the “Twible.” She will share her story with us this week on State of Belief.