Abrahamic Traditions
Resistance is Not Futile – And Not Enough
Resistance Is Not a Vision You may remember the Borg from Star Trek. They would appear and announce: “Resistance is futile.” It was terrifying because it meant you would be absorbed into a system with no freedom, no individuality, no humanity. Today, many people feel something similar. So people say, “We must resist.” And sometimes,…
Read MorePart One: Faith as a Theme Park
Why the Sacred–Secular Split Leaves People Tired and Divided For most of my 34 years as a pastor, I’ve seen a pattern that keeps repeating. Many people want the church to be a kind of theological Disneyland. It’s a place you visit for inspiration, comfort, and meaning—and then you go home to the real world,…
Read MoreLooking for Answers, Finding Questions
by Viveka Hall-Holt, ‘Let’s Go Together’ Program Coordinator This spring I went to Turkiyë (Turkey) with my mother for a course about ancient Christianity, looking for answers. Who were some of the first people who practiced my tradition? How did they live? How do people live out their traditions in Turkiyë now? Instead of coming…
Read MoreEither All of Us Are Human, or None of Us Are
Human beings have survived and thrived by forming in-groups. This instinct is so central to our lives that we’re often willing to risk everything to protect our group. But here’s the problem: other in-groups can be seen not just as different, but as threats—or even as less than human. And once we’ve stripped another group…
Read MoreCertain Inalienable Rights
I have the cane that Rabbi Levine carved for Father Treacy. It sits beside me now. On it, he carved these words: The road to God is paved with love Unity in diversity These two men dedicated their lives to bringing people together. By unity, they didn’t mean sameness. They meant that we can bring…
Read MoreBurning Passion
In 2015 I felt a burning passion in my heart, my bones, my soul. I saw increasing divisions in our society. I saw the dehumanization of Muslims, Jews, Indigenous and so many more. I knew that we were on a path that leads to fear and violence. We are still on that path now. Many…
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