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A Critical Look at the Pastor to Presidents

Rev. Billy Graham, that Southern Baptist minister with movie star-good looks and a booming voice, is arguably the most influential public preacher of our time.  Over his six decade career, the 89-year-old has counseled every U.S. president since Harry Truman and has filled stadiums with millions of followers all over the world.   But with his late criticism of the Vietnam war and past anti-Semitic statements,  the charismatic preacher isn't loved by all. Religious scholar Michael Long explains what Graham has meant to America's Presidents--and why he shouldn't necessarily be granted iconic status. 

Michael Long is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pa. and the editor of The Legacy of Billy Graham: Critical Reflections on America’s Greatest Evangelist

Commentary: Finding God in the Himalayas

Some 18 years ago, writer Karen Anderson took a trip to the highest mountains on earth to discover the essence of Hinduism and Buddhism.  What she learned about God wasn’t in the temples but on the steep, rocky trail.

Karen Anderson is a writer based in Traverse City, Mich.

Saying "I Do" In an Interfaith Relationship

Why do some interfaith marriages work and others don’t? This week we probe the unique challenges facing interfaith couples in love, from the wedding and the in-laws to children and death.  Two Catholic/Jewish couples share their own experiences, and Mary Helene Rosenbaum–-who deals with dual-faith issues every day at the Dovetail Institute—offers practical advice on how to make it work.

Two interfaith couples:  Eve and Scott Edwards; Jen and Rob Liebreich
Mary Helene Rosenbaum, Executive Director, Dovetail Institute
Special Thanks to the Interfaith Families Project of Greater Washington and the Jewish-Catholic Family Network

This week’s Interfaith Calendar

July 18 – Asalha Puja Day or Dharma Day (Buddhist)
This day is the anniversary of the beginning of Buddha’s teaching – with his first sermon, “The Wheel of Truth” – after his enlightenment. 

July 20 – 17th of Tammuz (Jewish)
This is the day on which Jews remember Moses’ bringing the two tablets of stone with the Ten Commandments down from Mt. Sinai.  Observances include a half-day fast from dawn to dusk.

July 23 – Birthday of Emperor Hailie Selassi I (Rastafarian)
Rastafarians believe that Hailie Selassi, former Emperor of Ethiopia, is God, and that he will return to Africa members of the black community who are living in exile.  This day commemorates his birth.

July 24 – Pioneer Day (Mormon)
On this day, Mormons remember the arrival of their forebears at the Great Salt Lake on July 24, 1847.  They had fled persecution in the East, and crossed the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains to find a new home in Utah.