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Date: 29 October 2009
Reading the Bible: Why and How
Prof. Timothy Beal has a term for the weird feeling some of his students have about studying scripture: Bible Baggage. He says the anxiety comes from all sorts of places-- bad memories of Sunday school, brushes with Bible thumpers, and simply feeling unauthorized to read it. But whether you're religious or not, he says, this much is true: the Bible's stories form the core of Western civilization. In his new book, Beal makes a case for reading, and yes, enjoying, the Bible.
Pictured: Moses With the Ten Commandments by Rembrandt, c.1659
Timothy Beal, author of Biblical Literacy: The Essential Bible Stories Everyone Needs to Know
Vatican to Anglicans: Let's Make a Deal
Begins at 22 min 30 sec
It’s one of the boldest moves to a Protestant Church since the Reformation. On October 20th, the Vatican made an offer to Anglicans who don’t like their church’s liberal policies on gay bishops and women priests: Come join us. The deal would allow Anglicans to convert to Catholicism while keeping many parts of the faith they do enjoy, like their songs, prayers and married clergy. It is, in a sense, an Anglican way to be Catholic.
Thomas Reese, S.J., Senior Fellow of Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University
Turkey's Most Famous Preacher
Begins at 39 min 16 sec
Some 85 years ago, Turkey—a predominately Muslim country—became an officially secular state, sparking an emotional debate over the role of religion in government. Into that mix walks Fethullah Gulen, a controversial Muslim preacher and activist. To his followers, he is a prophet of peace and dialogue. To his secular critics, he is a trojan horse of an Islamic state. B. Jill Carroll, author of a recent book on Gulen, offers her take. Our story first aired in June 2008.
B. Jill Carroll, Executive Director of the Boniuk Center for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance at Rice University
