Empathy

Occupy Faith: the Interfaith Tent at Occupy Oakland

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Occupy Faith: the Interfaith Tent at Occupy Oakland
Hate crimes? Robbery? Violence against police? If you Google “Occupy Oakland,” you might miss another deeper story, the story of Occupy Faith, the Interfaith Tent, now metaphorical, though no less strong, that has supported and borne witness to Occupy Oakland since October 24, 2011. Nichola Torbett,Director of Seminary of the Street (“At the intersection of radical love and justice”– my favorite neighborhood!) told me about the origins and activities of the Interfaith Tent which are myriad and moving.

Culture

Beyond Whiteness: New Web Resource for Understanding White Privilege and Racism

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One of the central tenets of my work has been to combine “spirituality” with more justice oriented work. Far too often in the new age meme there is a complete lack of acknowledgment of issues of oppression and racism. My newest website Beyond Whiteness is my latest attempt to provide more awareness around these crucial issues. It features dozens of videos, documentaries, articles and resources related to anti-racism and white privilege work. Enjoy!

Politics & Society

A Rant About Santorum — and the State of American Politics

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Something is seriously wrong with America, and things are not going to get any better until we can figure out a way to shift to a new way of thinking or being. I started blogging for this site last year because I really believe in the importance of a religious left to counter the religious right – or I should say the Christian Right because the religious left is interfaith and ecumenical, while the Christian Right is trying to pass off one rigid way of being Christian as the only way to be religious. I know I don’t need to illustrate that point, but consider Rick Santorum’s claim that President Obama supports an agenda that is antithetical to Christian values. Since when are caring for the poor, safe-guarding Creation, and thinking about the good of all G-d’s children not Christian values – or at least values that are compatible with Christianity? Santorum’s claim is just so outrageous.

Culture

Gandhi and the Dalit controversy: The limits of the moral force of an individual

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When I first heard that Gandhi was viewed as “the enemy” by many Dalits in India (formerly called “untouchables”), I was dumbfounded. How and why could Gandhi be seen as having betrayed the Dalits when he opposed untouchability even in the face of active discomfort on the part of close associates? Last month, while I was in India teaching Nonviolent Communication to 120 people, including a significant number of Dalits, I had the opportunity to explore this question further. During a session called “Gandhian Principles for Everyday Living,” a topic about which I have written at length, one of the 60 people present expressed anguish, pain and anger towards Gandhi. He was a Buddhist, like many other Dalits who had chosen to follow the Dalit leader Dr. B. R. Ambedkar in leaving behind centuries of mistreatment under Hinduism.

art

Photo Essay: 28 Days with 3 Million Muslims on the Hajj Pilgrimage

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In November 2011, I went on the Hajj pilgrimage with my parents. I spent 28 days in Saudi Arabia walking through the desert with three million Muslims from around the world. The whole experience made me believe in people’s ability to be incredibly generous and compassionate. We all shared space without distinctions of race, class, or gender. I was kissed by an old Iranian woman, I talked politics with an Egyptian man who was excited about the Occupy Movement, I shared food with a couple from Morocco, and I talked about hijab bans with a woman from Switzerland. I saw Turkish women with incredible facial tattoos, Nigerians with patterns of scars across their cheeks, and Afghan men with their beards died bright red with henna. We all stood on the plains of Arafat together and reflected on our regrets and all our hopes for the future.

Christianity

And They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love?

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As a Jew in the pew for the last two decades, I think I’ve gotten a pretty good sense of what being “Christian” means. Most of that experience has been gained in the midst of a particular group of Christians who believe that their actions, the way they live their lives, speak much louder than any words. But it is also a church where the pastors follow the lectionary most Sundays, meaning that those gathered are hearing exactly the same scripture readings from the Bible that most other Christians are hearing on those same Sundays. Frankly, from my two decades of listening to those passages, the message is pretty clear to this possibly distant relative of a nice Jewish boy from Nazareth. To be a Christian means that you are called to follow “the way” that Jesus lived.

Judaism

On Living Faith: Abraham and a Jewish Theology of Protest

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The Torah is filled with examples of prophets who protest in the name of justice. Moses protested the misdeeds of his fellow Israelites. Joshua protested falsified reports about the Holy Land. The very first proto-Jew, Abraham, even protested God when it came to a matter of justice. That God listened and acknowledged Abraham’s insights is a testament to the sacred nature of protest – and worthy of further inquiry.

Christianity

Abram's Call Out of Empire: Neither Jew Nor Christian

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“Go from your land, and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” (Genesis 12.1-2)

That Jesus was not a “Christian” startles many, although it is simply a fact. However, it is equally true that Abraham was neither an “Israelite” nor a “Jew.” The Genesis narrative returns to a time before such categories to tell the story of a person responding to the Voice that calls him to leave all traces of “empire” behind.

Culture

Spirituality of Charlotte’s Web

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A woman probably has about 450 egg cells available in her lifetime; in the U.S., perhaps one or two of those become children. A man, of course, has millions and millions of sperm, but again, only a handful become children; even for overachievers, a couple hundred is high – and still a tiny percentage. Most of those potential lives go nowhere or at least nowhere we know of besides the clothes washer. So all of us here have won the big lottery. We held the winning ticket for a life on earth.