For thousands of years, oral traditions and sacred texts were viewed as spiritual tools that helped individuals connect with the Divine and transcend themselves and their egos. Throughout this series, we have suggested that there is an art to reading sacred texts. Moreover, we have suggested that "sacred" texts extend beyond traditional religious texts. Religious scholars define sacred texts as meaning-making tools, artifacts that help us make sense of and interpret our lives. What objects have helped you make sense of your own life beyond the traditional ones offered within religion? What have you read, watched, or seen that made you feel seen and heard? Join us this Sunday as we explore how literature has given voice and hope to those who feel otherwise invisible.

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In today's Loft Conversations episode, we begin our discussion by reflecting on the tragedy in Memphis and the murder of Tyre Nichols. We discuss the role Christian theology has played in morally justifying a system of carceral punishment and how our reading of the bible calls us to dismantle these institutions. We then discuss how our identities inform how we read everything - especially the Bible! We end the episode discussing the Bible's role in our lives and how we use it - or don't - when examining contemporary social and moral issues.

In our society, sacred texts are seen, at best, as irrelevant and, at worst, as an excuse to incite violence, hatred, and division. It seems that the loudest voices within American Christian culture are fundamentalists who have co-opted the sacred texts and insist that they must be taken literally or conservative evangelicals who interpret scripture to bolster their own biases. As theologically progressive people of faith, many of us know how we don't want to read sacred texts such as the bible, but we are still struggling to find a method for how we do want to read and engage sacred texts. Join us this Sunday as Rev. Dr. Carter and Pastor Molly discuss their journeys with the bible and how they have learned, and are still learning, how to read it. www.TheLoftLA.org

In today's episode, we discuss the conversation between Rev. Dr. Carter and Dr. Lailatul Fitriyah, Assistant Professor of Interreligious Education at Claremont School of Theology. We begin our conversation by discussing our reactions to the tragic shooting in Monterrey Park, California. We then discuss our reflections on Dr. Fitriyah's remarks about the worship of "freedom" in American culture, the importance of justice within Islam, and how we can hold multiple identities - such as being a feminist and a Muslim - and faithfully practice our religious tradition.

How people of faith are supposed to read and engage sacred texts is one of the most controversial topics of our time. To be sure, this controversy extends beyond Christianity and into other religious traditions that use ancient texts to help form and inform modern religious practices. This Sunday, we will be joined by Dr. Lailatul Fitriyah, Assistant Professor of Interreligious Education at Claremont School of Theology, to discuss the art of reading Islamic sacred texts from a Muslim feminist perspective. Join us this Sunday as we discuss how she holds these identities in concert with her faith. www.TheLoftLA.org

This week's conversation is the first of a series of conversations on Sacred Texts. So many of us progressive Christians struggle with the Bible. We question its usefulness given that so many people have used it to justify evil. To be sure, we are not alone. Several religious traditions are going through this same struggle. We see the common thread through these traditions is a failure of practitioners to learn the Art of Reading Sacred Texts. We spend the first half of our conversations discussing how and why people of faith have come to this decisive point with our texts.

Then, we finish our conversation talking about Martin Luther King Jr., in honor of his holiday. His speeches and writings are sacred, and yet, we see them being misused in ways similar to our religious texts. Rev. Dr. Carter discusses some of his favorite sermons and speeches by King and how we can reclaim King's liberatory message.

In our society, sacred texts are seen, at best, as irrelevant and, at worst, as an excuse to incite violence, hatred, and division. So what value, if any, can sacred texts hold for us today? And given the context in which they were written, what role, if any, should these texts play in forming our spiritual practices? For thousands of years, oral traditions and sacred texts were viewed as spiritual tools that helped individuals connect with the Divine and transcend themselves and their egos. There is an art to reading sacred texts, an art form that has been pushed aside since the onset of modernity. In this series, we will rediscover this lost art form within religious traditions. And while we will discuss formal religious sacred texts, we will also explore other sacred texts that inform our moral and spiritual practices, such as literature, art, film, and music.

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We start 2023 with an initiation of sorts: a declaration of belovedness and a dip in the Jordan River with Jesus and John. In Jesus' baptism, we hear voices of God's affirmation; tucked into the gospel account are conversations about righteousness, and reminders of divine belovedness. As a Church that practices the sacrament of baptism, we hear ourselves in these words of blessing, as we claim belonging with a God whose love is both specific and expansive. The water invites us to imagine what God's love offers: refreshment, a clean start, a tactile reminder of grace. www.TheLoftLA.org

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! As we enter into a new year, we want to thank you all for your support and encouragement during these early stages of the podcast. We also want to invite you to share your thoughts, feedback, and ideas that you would like us to discuss in the coming months. While Dr. Carter raised the questions pasted below during the podcast, feel free to expand upon them as you see fit, and email your responses to [email protected].

1. What would you like us to discuss that we haven't touched on yet?
2. What types of conversations would you like us to have? Would you like us to spend more time on the intersections of politics, pop-culture, and religion? Or examine the deeper theological issues that still plague the church such as the dehumanization of the BIPOC, Queer, and Disabled communities?
3. What would make you want to share this podcast with someone?

This week's conversation centers on the stories of Mary and Elizabeth and what their story can teach us about love, faith, and solidarity. In a moment of Divine joy, Mary utters one of the most famous and radical prayers in the Christian tradition, the Magnificat. In this prayer, Mary proclaims that God's liberation love is at work in her, her cousin, and her community. She proclaims that God will overthrow the occupying colonial Roman Empire. This prayer is amazing, beautiful, and inspirational, but - how should we read this given our status as folks who benefit from occupied colonial land? We end the podcast by returning to last week's conversation. Given the way that Mary and Elizabeth see the Divine in each other, we wonder how this perspective would influence how we interact with others. www.TheLoftLA.org