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Bernard Starr
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Bernard Starr, Ph.D., psychologist/journalist/gerontologist, was formerly professor of developmental and educational psychology and director of a graduate program in gerontology at the City University of New York, Brooklyn College. He is founder, and for 25 years the managing editor, of the cutting edge Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics (Springer Publishing Co.); also editor of the Springer Series, Adulthood and Aging and Lifestyles and Issues in Aging. For seven years he was writer, producer and host of an award winning radio commentary, The Longevity Report, on WEVD-AM Radio in NYC that was twice nominated for the Alfred I. duPont Award in Broadcast Journalism. His numerous op-ed and commentary articles on issues of an aging society for the Scripps Howard News Service have appeared in newspapers throughout the United States. He currently produces and hosts television documentaries on meaningful, active and productive living in the third age of life for Phoenix Rising Television Productions. From 2008-2010 he was president of the Association for Spirituality and Psychotherapy and is currently the main United Nations representative for the Institute of Global Education that founded the Mucherla Global School in Mucherla, India. Dr. Starr is co author of The Starr-Weiner Report on Sex and Sexuality in the Mature Years (Stein and Day and McGraw Hill; also British and German editions). His latest book, Escape Your Own Prison: Why We Need Spirituality and Psychology to be Truly Free, is published by Rowman and Littlefield.

Entries by Bernard Starr

Why Christians Were Denied Access to Their Bible for 1,000 Years

(187) Comments | Posted May 20, 2013 | 2:43 PM

The Council of Nicaea called by the Emperor Constantine met in 325 C.E. to establish a unified Catholic Church. At that point no universally sanctioned Scriptures or Christian Bible existed. Various churches and officials adopted different texts and gospels. That's why the Council of Hippo sanctioned 27 books...

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Was Jesus Gay? Unlikely. Married? Maybe. Both? Possibly

(371) Comments | Posted May 8, 2013 | 12:37 PM

We know little about Jesus' personal life. The four canonical Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) provide few details -- and they say nothing about his life between adolescence and early adulthood. We are introduced to Jesus at his birth in the manger in Bethlehem. We next meet him at...

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Surprise: 'Jew in a Box' Is Not in a Box

(0) Comments | Posted May 2, 2013 | 5:00 PM

When the media dubbed an innovative and informative exhibit at the Jewish Museum in Berlin "Jew in a Box," it drew outrage from around the globe. Jews, Jewish organizations and others rose up to condemn the exhibit, which the media likened to boxcars that transported Jews...

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To Experience Jesus, Visit a Synagogue

(95) Comments | Posted April 25, 2013 | 1:32 PM

When I began gathering material for my recently published book, "Jesus Uncensored: Restoring the Authentic Jew," I described the project to an orthodox rabbi I know. I was prepared for an indifferent response, or perhaps a negative one, since I have found that Jews do not readily warm...

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Art That's 'Too Jewish'

(2) Comments | Posted April 16, 2013 | 2:43 PM

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An exhibit of Pre-Raphaelite art opened at Washington's National Gallery of Art on Feb. 17th that will run through May 19th. This art genre was launched in 1848, when seven British artists led by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais...

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Three Cheers for 'Jew in a Box' for Thinking Out of the Box

(0) Comments | Posted April 9, 2013 | 2:04 PM

When I first read the headline "Jew in a Box," describing a museum exhibit, I was shocked. I immediately assumed that it must be an anti-Semitic, if not neo-Nazi, display. What a surprise to learn that the headline referred to a performance piece at the Jewish Museum in...

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Jesus to Church Leaders: 'How Dare You in My Name'?

(5) Comments | Posted April 1, 2013 | 11:00 AM

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Christians call Jesus the Lamb of God, the Prince of Peace and the Embodiment of Love. These spiritual and humanistic depictions of Jesus, drawn from the Gospels, have attracted billions of devotees to Christianity throughout the ages and...

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Mayor Bloomberg Launches a Clandestine Passover Police Unit

(0) Comments | Posted March 21, 2013 | 7:07 PM

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On the heels of the court revocation of Bloomberg's ban on 16-ounce soft drinks, New York's mayor promptly created a secret Passover police unit (code name Sugar Daddy). According to information leaked from the mayor's office, the unit's mandate is to burst...

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How Artists Invented the Christian Jesus

(8) Comments | Posted March 19, 2013 | 3:58 PM

If you looked at Leonardo da Vinci's 15th century painting "The Last Supper" and didn't know that it depicted a gathering of Jesus and his disciples for a Passover celebration, you would probably think it was a get-together of Christian monks. Not surprising, since that's just what it...

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The Ethnic Cleansing of Judaism in Medieval and Renaissance Art

(3) Comments | Posted March 6, 2013 | 4:24 PM

The New York Times recently reviewed an impressive new exhibit at the Frick Collection in New York City of the paintings of 15th century artist Piero della Francesco. The Frick exhibit is a rare opportunity for art lovers to see these seven paintings in one location...

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Jesus of Nazareth, Bill O'Reilly and the Brutal Romans

(28) Comments | Posted February 25, 2013 | 4:33 PM

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The question of who killed Jesus or who was primarily responsible for the crucifixion has been debated by scholars, biblical experts and ordinary people for 2000 years. For my part, I hoped to put the issue to rest...

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God Killed Jesus: That's What the Gospels Say

(35) Comments | Posted February 18, 2013 | 10:02 PM

One of the most potent sources of the Jewish-Christian divide is the historic charge that "the Jews killed Jesus." That's why in writing my new book, Jesus Uncensored: Restoring the Authentic Jew, I wanted to know more about this puzzling accusation. How could the Jews have killed Jesus...

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Wandering Jews of the Diaspora: Where Are They?

(6) Comments | Posted February 12, 2013 | 5:02 PM

Jews comprise a tiny percentage of the world's population -- about 0-2 percent (13.75 million). And they are scattered in communities across the planet, even in remote places. That wasn't always the case.

In the first century C.E., under the Roman Empire, Jews were mostly...

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Jesus 'Used to Be Jewish'? That's Not What the Gospels Say

(405) Comments | Posted January 17, 2013 | 10:23 AM

When I interviewed Christians and Jews for my book "Jesus Uncensored: Restoring the Authentic Jew," I heard over and over "everyone knows Jesus was Jewish." But when I dug a little deeper I discovered that "everyone knows he was Jewish" really means "he used to be Jewish." Then I found...

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Legal Issues in Self-Publishing: What Authors Need to Know

(4) Comments | Posted December 24, 2012 | 6:21 AM

Self-publishing continues its exponential growth. More and more authors are choosing this route for presenting their work to the public, encouraged by impressive success stories, including accounts by bestselling writers who have moved over from traditional publishing to take advantage of greater profits and better control...

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The Coming Interspiritual Age

(29) Comments | Posted December 12, 2012 | 3:44 PM

Since the beginnings of formal religions, prophets and mystics have been predicting the spiritual transformation of mankind, a transformation that will usher in an age of peace and harmony. In Judaism, for example, a long-standing tradition holds that a Messiah will one day deliver the "golden age." Of course, Christians...

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No Planet, No Jobs: The Suicide Bombing of Science

(7) Comments | Posted November 12, 2012 | 3:33 PM

Climate change was noticeably absent from the presidential debates. It's not a "gut" issue, the pundits said: "Voters want to hear about jobs, the economy, health care and other issues that impact their daily lives and security." The consensus of commentators was that no matter what position candidates took on...

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Jesus Married? Not Surprising For a Dedicated Jew

(100) Comments | Posted September 21, 2012 | 12:49 PM

There is nothing totally new in the discovery by a Harvard scholar of a fourth-century papyrus fragment indicating that Jesus was married. The so-called "Gnostic Gospels," which were written by early Christian sects and uncovered in the Egyptian desert in 1945 ("Nag Hammadi Library"), also reported a romantic...

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Must You Pay to Use Photos of Public Domain Artworks? No, Says a Legal Expert

(1) Comments | Posted September 12, 2012 | 4:59 PM

I recently completed a book that includes photos of Medieval and Renaissance artworks. Although the paintings are out of copyright and in the public domain, I was dismayed to discover that the museums that own these paintings charge hefty licensing fees to use their photos of these works. Then, lo...

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The New Vanity Publishing: Traditional Publishing

(56) Comments | Posted August 23, 2012 | 2:48 PM

The old vanity publishing offered authors who could not attract the interest of a traditional publisher an opportunity to get their books published. The process was costly and often required that the author purchase large quantities of books. According to legend, garages throughout America are warehousing these dust-gathering...

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