Common Threads: An Interfaith Dialogue

I would venture to say that most Catholics have no idea that there is an Eastern Rite wing of their own church. That is, there are churches in North American & Europe that if a Catholic should enter, he would assume is Orthodox. So much of the ritual would be the same. Actually, an Orthodox Christian might feel more at home in such a church. But in this case, said church is 100% Catholic, fully in communion with Rome.

These congregations observe many of the traditions of Orthodoxy. Priests can marry, iconography is important, and Sunday services are not called Masses, but Divine Liturgies.

I don't recall what year these episodes aired, but certainly within the 1st few years of this century. The guests are Fr.Michael Bliszcz from St. Michael's Church in Grand Rapids, MI and Prof. Robert Marko, who at the time taught Religion at Aquinas College. I recall enjoying my conversations with these gentlemen. And I learned a lot. Theme music "Nigal."

Do know that I get all sorts of people who reach out to appear on Common Threads. When it comes to subjects concerning spirituality & health I'm very circumspect. There is a lot of nonsense floating out there. But this particular guest (Dr. Bruce Lipton) really has a lot of data to back him up. These episodes aired in 2006. I hope this makes an impact. Theme music "Nigal."

If you've to enough episodes in our vault you've come across a few that feature Swami Bodhanada. The fact that he has an ashram about an hour from Grand Rapids always made him accessible. But what really makes him special is the width & breadth of his knowledge of Hinduism. He is able to define the nooks & crannies of it better than many, especially to people for whom this is new territory. These episodes originally aired in 2008.

Theme music "Nigal."

Just a few episodes back we posted a couple of episodes entitled "Gnostic Yoga." I really wasn't thrilled with the scholarship behind the research our guest accomplished. So, I think we are redeeming ourselves this time. In 2003 we aired these interviews with Dr. Karen King, a very respected academic with a keen interest in the so called Gnostic Gospels. In these conversations Dr. King & I discuss the Gospel of Mary of Magdala. I highly recommend this one.

Enjoy. Theme music "Nigal."

If you have perused our vast collection of shows you may recall coming upon a few episodes promoting Grand Dialogue. That is a an (almost) annual event here in Grand Rapids. It's a conference that focuses on Science & Religion. I just found these episodes, & recall that this particular conference was one of my favorites. The year was 2009. The keynote speaker was Brian Malley. And his topic was a fascinating one: Just why do we believe in gods, goddesses, higher powers, transcendence...

You can't not listen. I won't let you. Theme music "Nigal."

Full disclosure: Sometimes I do interviews as favors. One of the challenges of hosting this program is that over the years I've gotten so many requests to profile certain people, events, etc. that in my heart of hearts I know will have little interest to our listeners. Well, folks, this is an example of that. At the time we had a few Christian Scientists who were active in local interfaith programs. They were nice people, so when they came to me really excited that this speaker was coming to town, & asked me to interview her to promote her lecture, I said yes. Dang.

If you don't listen to this I won't feel hurt. And you can FF the 1st 5 minutes when I spend it giving all the details of Ms. Fife's appearance locally. This is from 2001. I was just getting my mojo. Oh, another thing...for some reason the sound quality is really poor. Another excuse for you to skip right over.

I am better at saying no to requests, by the way. But I have to admit that there have been a few times when I said yes to a suggestion & expected a stinker, but was greatly surprised with an excellent conversation.

Ya never know. Theme music "Nigal."

Listening to these 2007 episodes was enjoyable Clearly, some of these stand up to time better than others. In these conversations I speak with Erik Kolbell from Riverside Church in NYC. If you're not aware, Riverside has been sort of the flagship for American liberal congregations. And it's not too hard to spot a liberal Christian. They are the ones focusing on the beatitudes (the social gospel) as opposed to salvation, the main issue with conservatives.

Do check this out. I think you'll like where we take things. Theme music "Nigal."

I'm guessing that these episodes aired around 2003 or so. Not certain. Anyway, they were interesting conversations. But if you listen to me talk about our guest's various initiations and positions it sounds a bit overwhelming. I admit that I'm a bit skeptical about people who dip their toes in SO many spiritual traditions. But know that this is a personal bias. Judge for yourself.

The thing that I find interesting is that he had multiple goals in establishing ministries to cater to those seeking more esoteric paths. It seems that nothing he offers here every panned out. In posting these old shows I often check the web to see where they are these days. My searches for John show almost nothing. And what I do see is all from the early 2000s. Do keep this in mind when listening. None of the websites he offers is active.

To be clear, I am very interested in Gnostic teachings. You'll find other programs in our collection of shows that I think are more informative. Theme music "Nigal."

Boy, do I remember these. Ruth Tucker (our guest) is an interesting kinda lady. Case in point: Way back in 2002 when we aired these, someone on our team made contact with her via phone to set up a recording date. In conversation he happened to mention that he was born Christian, but now adheres to another religion. She just went ballistic on him. Now, I don't mean that she yelled or screamed, but according to him she was just relentless about rejoining the fold. And this is a guy who took his faith very seriously. From what I recall, the call ended civilly and we proceeded.

But what you'll hear in these episodes is Ruth discussing her book "Walking Away From Faith." It details the spiritual journeys of those who left Christianity for Atheism. She does not investigate Christians who moved to other religions. But she really exposes herself honestly as one who regularly struggles with faith herself.

Upon listening to this 20 year hence I find it interesting that both of us use "homosexual" to describe people rather than orientation. back then it was not much of an issue. Also, I'd love to know if she would refer to homosexuality as a sin if we were to speak to her today. She seems sympathetic to gays, but it is clear that for her heterosexuality was a moral imperative.

By the way, as much as Dr. Tucker & I disagree on most things theological, the school where she taught (Calvin Seminary here in Grand Rapids) treated her just horribly. You can find out more at www.ruthtucker.com if you're so inclined. There you will also find out about her horrific journey from spousal abuse to healing. Theme music "Nigal."

I remember these conversations from 2007 quite well. Our guest David Miller is just a likeable kinda guy. And I found much to work with in this subject matter. Just how do we navigate a multi-faith (& non-faith) environment in the office, factory, field, etc.?

I can't think of much else to tell you, other than listen, goldarnit!

Theme music "Nigal."