Harvard Divinity School

This is the sixth event is a six-part series.

This session was a discussion among presenters reflecting upon the insights shared throughout the series. In addition to identifying themes and throughlines among sessions, they returned to the overarching questions that framed this collaboration: What can an expansive understanding of religion provide in these times of Earth crisis? What is the role of the study of religion in times of catastrophe?

Panelists: Mayra Rivera, Dan McKanan, Teren Sevea, Matthew Ichihashi Potts, Terry Tempest Williams

Moderator: Diane L. Moore, Diane L. Moore, Associate Dean of Religion and Public Life

Mayra Rivera, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Religion and Latinx Studies

Dan McKanan, Ralph Waldo Emerson Unitarian Universalist Association Senior Lecturer in Divinity

Teren Sevea, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies

Matthew Ichihashi Potts, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church

Terry Tempest Williams, HDS Writer-in-Residence

For more information on the full series, "Religion in Times of Earth Crisis: A Series of Public Online Conversations," visit https://hds.harvard.edu/news/religion-times-earth-crisis

This event took place on March 18, 2024.

For more information on HDS, visit https://hds.harvard.edu

Full transcript: https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/news/2024/06/18/video-religion-times-earth-crisis-reflecting-religion-times-earth-crisis

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This book talk featured “Decolonizing Palestine: The Land, The People, The Bible” by Mitri Raheb.

“Decolonizing Palestine” challenges the weaponization of biblical texts to support the current settler-colonial state of Israel. Raheb argues that some of the most important theological concepts–Israel, the land, election, and chosen people–must be decolonized in a paradigm shift in Christian theological thinking about Palestine.

“Decolonizing Palestine” is a timely book that builds on the latest research in settler-colonialism and human rights to place traditional theological themes within the wider socio-political context of settler colonialism as it is practiced by the modern nation-state of Israel. Written by a native Palestinian Christian theologian who continues to live in the region, “Decolonizing Palestine” provides an insider’s perspective that disrupts hegemonic and imperialist narratives about the region.

Featuring Rev. Prof. Mitri Raheb, Founder and President of Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem

Moderated by Diane L. Moore, Associate Dean of Religion and Public Life

This event took place on April 16, 2024.

For more information: https://hds.harvard.edu

Full transcript: https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/news/2024/06/18/video-decolonizing-palestine-land-people-bible

The Yang Visiting Scholars in World Christianity program brings distinguished senior and junior scholars of world Christianity to Harvard Divinity School each year, opening up fresh perspectives, particularly from the global south.

This discussion was led by David N. Hempton, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor, and Alonzo L. McDonald, Family Professor of Evangelical Theological Studies at Harvard Divinity School. Professor Hempton led a conversation with this year’s Yang Visiting Scholars, Nathanael Homewood, Tom Santa Maria, and Gina A. Zurlo. Each scholar gave a brief presentation of their work and how it contributes to the study of World Christianity, followed by a group discussion.

This event took place on April 11, 2024.

For more information, see https://hds.harvard.edu

Full transcript: https://hds.harvard.edu/news/video/2024/04/11/yang-scholars-2024-explorations-world-christianity

Organized by the HDS student group, HDS Muslims, this event began after breaking fast; guests enjoyed an hour-long performance by a group of musicians who performed examples of traditional music from Ottoman Sufi Istanbul lodges. This event featured the Istanbul Meshk Ensemble, directed by A. Eylül Valçunkaya, Ph.D., a visiting researcher at CMES.

This event took place on March 26, 2024.

For more information, see https://hds.harvard.edu

Full transcript: https://hds.harvard.edu/news/video/2024/03/26/ottoman-sufi-music-night

The vast range of meditation practices in Buddhist traditions has stood the test of time. Still, we live in a culture that differs radically from Buddhist cultures of the past. Our minds and lives are fragmented, and people find even basic concentration challenging. In such circumstances, an approach grounded in inquiry at a deep level, together with non-dual acceptance, may be of special value. Tibetan teacher Tarthang Tulku, active in the West for more than five decades, has developed such an approach: the Time, Space, Knowledge Vision. Jack Petranker, one of his senior students, introduced the inquiry-based Vision and present practices that derive from it.

Jack Petranker is the Director of the Mangalam Research Center for Buddhist Languages and the Founder and Senior Teacher of the Center for Creative Inquiry. Editor and author of numerous books on contemplative inquiry, Jack is a senior student of Tibetan Buddhist teacher Tarthang Tulku, an innovative, traditionally trained lama resident in America for fifty-five years.

This event took place on March 7, 2024.

For more information, see https://hds.harvard.edu

Full transcript: https://hds.harvard.edu/news/video/2024/05/07/-meditation-fractured-times

Saints, spiritual warriors, bodhisattvas, zaddikim—no matter how they are named in a given tradition, all share a profound altruistic wish to free others from suffering. Saints are not beings of stained glass or carved stone. “Each of us can be a new saint,” says Lama Rod Owens. “In our pain, our trauma, and all our complexity, we all can—and must—awaken the virtue of our compassion for the benefit of our communities, our planet, and our own souls.”

Watch Lama Rod as he shares personal stories, spiritual teachings, and instructions for contemplative and somatic practices from his newest book, The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors. This work reinforces the truth of our interdependency—allowing us to be of service to the collective well-being, and to call on the support and strength of the countless beings who share our struggles and hopes.

Bio

Lama Rod Owens is a Black Buddhist Southern Queen. An international influencer with a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School. Author of The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors and Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger and co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, his teachings center on freedom, self-expression, and radical self-care.

A leading voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers with over 11 years of experience, Lama Rod activates the intersections of his identity to create a platform that’s very natural, engaging, and inclusive. Applauded for his mastery in balancing weighty topics with a sense of lightness, the Queen has been featured by various national and international news outlets.

Highly sought after for talks, retreats, and workshops, his mission is to show you how to heal and free yourself.

This event took place on March 19, 2024.

For more information: https://hds.harvard.edu

Full transcript: https://hds.harvard.edu/news/video-becoming-new-saint-exploring-path-emerging-warriors-our-broken-hearts

In this episode of the Hope Podcast, we sit down with Keisha Bush, a second-year MTS student. We discuss the importance of intention and the value of community.

Learn more about religion and spiritual life at Harvard Divinity School here: hds.harvard.edu/community-life/re…nd-spiritual-life

Transcript: https://www.hds.harvard.edu/news/2024/05/02/hope-podcast-featuring-keisha-bush-mts-24.

In this episode of the Hope Podcast, we sit down with Swami Sachidananda, a student fellow at HDS. We discuss his monastic journey and the power of a smile.

Learn more about religion and spiritual life at Harvard Divinity School here: hds.harvard.edu/community-life/re…nd-spiritual-life

Transcript: https://www.hds.harvard.edu/news/2024/05/01/hope-podcast-featuring-swami-sachidananda.

In this episode of the Hope Podcast, we hear from Jamail Khan, a second-year MTS student at HDS. We discuss the importance of religious community for spiritual growth and the power of love and beauty in the face of hopelessness.

Learn more about religion and spiritual life at Harvard Divinity School here: hds.harvard.edu/community-life/re…nd-spiritual-life

Transcript: https://www.hds.harvard.edu/news/2024/04/30/hope-podcast-featuring-jamail-khan-mts-24.

Pop Apocalypse, hosted by Matthew J. Dillon, postdoctoral fellow at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School, explores the mystical and the mythic, the paranormal and the psychedelic in popular culture.

For episode 7, we welcome the writer and scholar Erik Davis to reflect on the journey that led to his new book, BLOTTER: The Untold Story of an Acid Medium. We discuss Erik’s writing for the Village Voice in the early 90s, his breakthrough monograph Techgnosis, and how his home state of California informs his oeuvre. In the second half of the interview, we discuss the academic study of “the weird,” perils and possibilities for the psychedelic renaissance, and how BLOTTER is a love letter to LSD.

A full transcript is forthcoming.

Learn more: cswr.hds.harvard.edu/