Shalom Auslander: Incurably, Miserably Religious
- play show:
Date: 16 October 2008
Bargaining with God
Shalom Auslander has got a bone to pick with God. Raised an Orthodox Jew, he reflects on what he learned about the Big Man Upstairs – an angry god who writes rules, punishes you for eating a cheeseburger, and walks around drunk in His underwear.
Shalom Auslander, author of Foreskin’s Lament
How the Financial Meltdown Hurts the Poor
Begins at 22:49
Wall Street in turmoil, banks with no money and one whopper of a bailout. The economic crisis dominates the headlines, but the talk centers mostly on the woes of the rich and powerful.
What about the world’s poor, the folks who have trouble finding food or shelter in good times? What will happen to them now?
Rev. James Martin, Jesuit priest, Associate Editor of America Magazine
Made Perfectly, and Disabled
Begins at 36:16
For people of faith living with disability, an equal place in church doesn’t mean just wheelchair ramps. They struggle with their fellow believers’ inability to understand them, and with their own trouble understanding why God made them the way they are. But instead of asking, "Why me?" many say, "Why not me?"
Laura Lee Wright, Team Leader for Access Ministry at Northland Church, Orlando, Fla.
What’s in a Name?
Begins at 45:01
This summer, the Vatican decided there was one word too sacred for Catholics to utter during services: Yahweh. It’s an ancient name for the Almighty, and to speak it during biblical times carried the risk of death by stoning.
Dr. Robert Miller, Professor of Old Testament Studies, Catholic University of America
This Week's Interfaith Calendar
October 20 – Birth of the Bab (Baha’i)
Referred to as the “Herald of the Baha’i Faith,” the Bab was a prophet who was a forerunner to Baha’ullah, the founder of the Baha’i Faith.
October 21 – Simchat Torah (Jewish)
Simchat Torah means "Rejoicing in the Torah." This holiday marks the completion of the annual cycle of Torah readings.
