At the Table With the Ayatollah
- play show:
Date: 7 January 2009
An American Bishop in Tehran
Iran and America don’t get along very well. There are the reports about enriching uranium, the human rights violations, and oh yes, Ahmadinejad’s remark that Israel should “vanish from the page of time." A few months ago the Episcopal Bishop of Washington visited Iran, hoping to find common ground. This week he joins us in the studio to recount his conversation with that country's spiritual leader and ultimate "decider," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Bishop John Bryson Chane, the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, D.C.
Christians, Shias and the End of the World
Begins at 22:30
When it comes to predicting the end of the world, Shia Muslims and Christians Fundamentalists have a lot in common. Both believe in an immiment apocalypse, a violent time when non-believers must convert or die. But if each tradition thinks the other will perish, is interfaith dialogue possible? Evan Anderson says yes.
Evan Anderson, author of "Dialogue or Conversion?"
Learning from Madoff
Begins at 36:30
In the Jewish Talmud, the first question God asks you in the afterlife is "Were you honest in your business dealings?" Rabbi Benjamin Blech, a law professor at Yeshiva University,
says Bernie Madoff will have a tough time answering that one.
Rabbi Benjamin Blech, professor of Jewish law at Yeshiva University
The Way We Never Were
Begins at 40:31
It turns out “traditional marriage”—that sacred union between one man and one woman—is not so traditional after all. Stephanie Coontz recounts the surprising evolution of the big "I Do," from the days of "one man, many women" to the love contract we know today.
Stephanie Coontz, author of Marriage: A History
Commentary: A Godly Hour
Begins at 49:36
Karen Anderson wakes up at "some ungodly hour" to catch a flight – only to realize that the view from her window is decidedly holy.
Karen Anderson, writer from Traverse City, Mich.
This Week's Interfaith Calendar
January 13 - Maghi (Sikh)
Sikhs remember the martyrdom of the "40 Liberated Ones," who died defending the last human guru of Sikhism from invading armies in 18th century India.
January 14 - Makar Sankrant (Hindu)
This holiday marks the sun's return to the northern hemisphere at the midpoint of winter. "Sankrant" comes from the Sanskrit word for "transition."
January 15 - Seijin Shiki (Shinto)
On this Coming-Of-Age Day in Japan, those who have turned 20 (Japan's age of majority) in the past year attend ceremonies at Shinto temples, then party the night away.
