If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
I hope you will meet us not just as a people struggling with social problems or even ecological catastrophe, but also you will somehow meet the angel of New Orleans in some of us, and that we will somehow also feel the angel of Tibet speaking through you.
We all have obstacles to overcome and dragons to slay, our path is often treacherous and challenging, and our destination is not always clear. But ultimately, the adventure of the hero is the adventure of being alive.
"Concern with others' well being: that is compassion," the 77-year-old Buddhist spiritual leader declared. "Compassion must come from there," he added, pointing toward his heart.
As the "Arab Spring" and its aftermath continue to upset the historical order in many countries, future Muslim leaders would do well to follow the example of Dhul-Qarnayn. Acknowledging the limits of their own political systems and promoting collective action are central to good governance in this increasingly pluralistic age.
My friend just came back from a scientific conference in Austria where she met other scientists, from places like Saudi Arabia and South Africa, who were shocked to discover that she, a Muslim Arab, was living and working with Jews in Israel.
When I teach in the West, people talk about self-loathing and self-aggression. Imagine what could happen if we all began to feel that we are good and to have confidence in ourselves that way.
In the midst of our wreckage that I speak to you, both as a Jew and as a New Orleanian, because survival is not just a matter of urban planning, or of financial aid, or willfulness. It is something deeper. It is of the soul.
In our increasingly scientific and pluralistic world, fundamentalist theology unravels at almost every seam.
I feel more convinced than ever that interfaith efforts should include LGBTQ voices; if such work is intended to bring together people with different and sometimes contradicting convictions and identities, then it has to.
While international efforts establish legal protections for freedom of expression and other freedoms, it is important not to end the discussion there. We must promote engagement and dialogue that remains focused on matters of human dignity.
After morning cuddles with my Isabella, I went to San Francisco City Hall this morning to join the Healing Circle to connect with moms who have lost children to gun violence.
Shavuot, holiday commemorates revelation at Sinai when the Jews were chosen by God to receive the Ten Commandments, will commence Tuesday evening. This idea, that the Jews are the chosen people, is one of the most misunderstood concepts in history.
If we can feel those around us and extend love instead of judgment, we can create unity among peoples, and our words and actions will reverberate around the world.
While it is easy to dismiss Pat for just being Pat, the reality is that he has a microphone through his television show, which many people hear and take seriously. Voices like his need to be called out for adding nothing but hateful rhetoric and divisiveness into conversations about religion.
While I try to keep an understanding voice, there are beliefs, ideas and individuals that can push my buttons -- and I have plenty of buttons. The boundary between being open to others and being justly offended by the bad beliefs they hold is not always clearly demarcated.
Dawkins on biology is an elegant, lucid and even enchanting explicator of science. Dawkins on religion is historically uninformed, outrageously partisan and morally obtuse. If Dawkins is indeed our best, the life of the mind is in a precarious state.
