Common Threads: An Interfaith Dialogue

I recall really enjoying these 2006 conversations with Rev. Stephen Bauman, who is a pastor for a church in NYC. We discuss the rewards & challenges of being a spiritual leader in the city that never sleeps. By the way, this is the last old cassette that I've been able to find in my basement. Unless anything else shows up, from this point on I'll be uploading only recently broadcast shows. Theme music "Nigal."

Since Trump never went away like a good ex-president should, we must continue to be vigilant, as his hapless followers are determined to wreak havoc on our democracy. There are many strains of this toxicity. One of the most pernicious is the Christian Nationalism movement. It just ain't going away.

In these 2 episodes from March 2022 we speak with Rev. Nathaniel Manderson. He's a Baptist minister who is working hard to make a case that Evangelicals should not support this oppressive, bigoted movement.

Theme music "Nigal."

I am just about done with digitizing these old cassette copies of episodes from the ancient past. I have no honest idea as to the air dates of these. I suspect we're talking about the very early years of the new century. Sometime between 2000-05? Probably. The 1st part is a conversation with Srivas Das, one of the early pioneers of the Hare Krishna movement in Ghana & other African countries. Here we discuss the very basics of Vaishnavism, the branch of Hinduism that Krishna devotees represents.

By the way, the Hare Krishna movement is explored in more detail in Episode 35 & 90.

The 2nd part features Naraharidev Das. This one has a distinct local flavor, as our guest had recently moved to Grand Rapids and hoped to establish a center here. That never materialized, but the ashrams in the Detroit area occasionally send people here to conduct programs. Please ignore any phone numbers given. Theme music "Nigal."

Boy, do we cover a lot of ground in these 2 episodes! As I state in my introduction to Part 1, over beer & pizza my cousin Andres tells me about this awesome author he's read who he thinks would be a good fit for CT. Man, he was right.

Our guest is Dr. Diana Walsh Pasulka author of 'American Cosmic: UFOs, Religion, Technology' and 'Heaven Can Wait: Purgatory in Catholic Devotional and Popular Culture.'

Dr. Pasulka has a B.A. from University of California, Davis, an M.A. from Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. from Syracuse University. She is currently a professor in the department of Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and is the chair of the American Academy group Death and Dying.

Theme music "Nigal."

We are now hearing and reading about a subject that has been thrown in the back of the closet for decades. The question before us is: Should the descendants of slaves be compensated for the invaluable contributions that their ancestors made to the growth of the USA in our formative years? The various positions taken on this issue come from the arenas of politics, social justice and economics. Here we address it from the standpoint of religion. Our guest for these episodes from 2021 is Gregory Thompson, the author of the book "Reparations: A Christian Call for Repentance & Prayer" Theme music "Nigal."

These episodes from 2006 were real finds for me. My guests here are Yashwant Pathak & Shekhar Patel from the International Center for Cultural Studies. They make a solid case for protecting the many indigenous cultures around the world that are threatened by ecological intrusion, social upheaval and over-zealous missionaries who are bent on eliminating sacred traditions that have upheld these societies for centuries. Please note that the website given on air is no longer valid. It has been replaced by www.iccsglobal.org

Theme music "Nigal."

Back in the 70s, a religious punchline often included "The Moonies." That's what members of the Unification Cult were called, in reference to their messy messiah Sun Myung Moon. We haven't heard much of them as of late, but they hardly disappeared. Well, Moon died (What? No resurrection?), and now a battle is taking place between Moon's widow and 2 of her sons who are allied against her. And here's the scary part: These whack-jobs have started their own right-wing death cult where the AR-15 is considered a sacramental, used in worship services like Catholics might use a rosary.

Sorry to say, this is scary stuff. But it needs to be said. Our guest Jordan Green has done a great job on providing what we need to know about this latest iteration of a Trump inspired dystopia. Let's do what we can to reverse course. Theme music "Nigal."

In November of 2021 Calvin University presented an online conference that focused on how Evangelical Christianity has, over time, defined just what made a woman "godly." Needless to say, in this 21st century there has been a movement among women to deconstruct these notions and replace them with what many would call a more enlightened understanding.

In these episodes we speak with the author of the book The Making of Biblical Womanhood, Beth Allen Barr just prior to the Calvin event. She's not afraid to do a little boat rockin', that's for sure.

Enjoy Theme music "Nigal."

These are wonderful conversations that I had in 2021 with author Susan Garthwaite. We discuss the wisdom of St. Hildegard, a 12th century mystic who was a woman of great regard by the Catholic Church. These days her influence spreads far beyond denominations.

What's interesting when speaking to people like Susan, who struggle between cultivating the great spiritual tradition that birthed and raised them, yet are often at odds with the institution. Listen & enjoy. Theme music "Nigal."

The movie The Kashmir Files was slated for a massive release in India in January of 2022. Due to Covid it is being held back. Here in the US there were some private screenings in major metro areas. While I did not see the film myself, several friends did, and were very encouraging when I told them I'd be speaking with director Vivek Agnihotri. This was a powerful conversation about one of the world's most painful experiences in the late 20th century, and the reverberations we are still feeling. So until The Kashmir Files is released, we must be satisfied with offerings such as this. Theme music "Nigal."