Life Itself: The Best Humanist Ideas for the Rest of Us

In the hustle of modern life it's often difficult to stop, take a breath, and listen to those around you. We can learn so much simply by attending to the stories of the people around us.
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In the hustle of modern life it's often difficult to stop, take a breath, and listen to those around you. We can learn so much simply by attending to the stories of the people around us. The monthly Life Itself podcast invites you to participate in sensible dialogue around interfaith experience from a variety of sources ranging from experts and religious scholars to students and community members worldwide.

In this first episode, we interview Humanist Chaplain Chris Stedman. I met Chris about five years ago in a Harlem coffee shop where we had arranged to meet. My big (and only) item on the agenda was to invite him to speak for a Faith House Manhattan event in New York City, without paying him what he was worth! This was done and over within the first 10 minutes. What followed was unforgettable; a long evening of learning from his heart, mind, and unexpected story of studying theology, turning into an atheist, and then deciding to be a pastor in his own way.

His bottomless well of kindness towards, respect for, and wonder about religion was, to me, like finally receiving a blessing from an outsider of my religious world. Personally, it felt like God blessed me.

Chris is now the Humanist chaplain at Yale University and the author of the wonderful book Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious, and in this podcast he tells us about the life-giving and community-building practices of his Humanist community, his gratitude to religious teachers, and the wonders of walking a dog!

We encourage you to join the dialogue by commenting on Facebook and sharing the podcast.

In upcoming episodes, you can look forward to guests like Parker Palmer on Quaker spirituality and Rabbi Or Rose on Jewish wisdom. Thank you, and enjoy!

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