Five Hundred Years of John Calvin
- play show:
Date: 9 July 2009
John Calvin, Not So Calvinist
This week, it’s the life and legacy of John Calvin, the father of Presbyterianism, born 500 years ago this month. He's often remembered as a moralistic party pooper, wagging his finger at graceless Christians. In a new biography, Bruce Gordon paints the Protestant reformer as more complex, at once shy, hot-headed, intolerant and brilliant.
Calvin is best known for adding a controversial twist to the idea of predestination, the belief that God has already decided who is saved. In Calvin’s view, God also knows who is damned—leaving his critics asking, if you can’t change your fate, what’s the point of being good?
Bruce Gordon, author of Calvin
American Idols and American Idolatry
Begins at 23 min 24 sec
For many of his followers, Michael Jackson’s funeral wasn't just a glitzy tribute, it was a religious experience. That’s because Jackson’s music, like the music of Elvis, David Bowie and countless others, has the real ability to transport fans elsewhere, taking them to a realm beyond pop culture. Gary Laderman explains why celebrity worship doesn’t just seem religious, it is religious.
Gary Laderman, author of Sacred Matters: Celebrity Worship, Sexual Ecstasies, the Living Dead, and Other Signs of Religious Life in the United States
Commentary: Sweatin’ to the Holy
Begins at 32 min 22 sec
A few Sundays ago, writer Karen Anderson laced up her running shoes for an early morning jog. As she ran past worshippers on their way out of church, she had a strange epiphany: she was in church, too.
Karen Anderson, writer based in Traverse City, Mich.
God Goes Missing In Scandinavia
Begins at 36 min 15 sec
By some standards, Scandinavia is home to the most well-adjusted societies on earth. The region is known for its high literacy rates, low crime rates, top-notch education and welfare systems, and an overall knack for making the trains run on time. But in countries like Denmark and Sweden, there’s something noticeably missing in the lives of most citizens: a belief in God.
Phil Zuckerman, author of Society Without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment
This Week's Interfaith Calendar
July 13 - Obon (Buddhist)
Do you ever wish that your long-deceased grandparents could come back for a visit? According to the Buddhist tradition in Japan, the spirits of deceased ancestors do visit their living relatives during the summertime festival of Obon. It’s a time for family reunions and homecomings, when the airports are as busy as Thanksgiving weekend in the United States. At night, the ancestors are welcomed with a ritual dance called the Obon Odori and paper lanterns are lit to aid their return journey to the land of the dead.
