Jim McGreevey: From Scandal to Seminary
- play show:
Date: 4 March 2010
A Higher Calling
Meet the new Jim McGreevey: proud gay American, volunteer, seminary student. About a year after he stunned the country with the announcement that he had been unfaithful, the ex-New Jersey governor enrolled at one of the country’s most prestigious Episcopalian seminaries. He has now begun a spiritual process, known as discernment, that may lead to his priesthood. McGreevey joins us to reflect on the long journey to finding his true self.
Jim McGreevey, former Governor of New Jersey and author of The Confession
The Soundscapes of Faith: Winner of the Wilbur Award
Begins at 22 min 48 sec
Our series, The Soundscapes of Faith, has won the 2010 Wilbur Award for Radio! The Wilbur was created in 1949 to honor secular media who "promote excellence in the communication of religious faith and values."
The series, produced this fall by our own Laura Kwerel, is based on the idea that every faith tradition has a unique sonic signature.
The Mormon Bloggernacle
Begins at 28:35
In a recent speech to Brigham Young University students, 80-year-old Mormon Elder M. Russell Ballard called upon young Mormons to take to the internet, using blogs as a vehicle to share their beliefs with others. And they certainly have. The Mormon blogosphere has grown so rapidly, it has earned its own nickname: the Bloggernacle. Courtney Kendrick tells us about her blog, C Jane Enjoy It, which receives up to 30,000 hits every day.
Courtney Jane Kendrick, author of the blog C Jane Enjoy It
Web Extra: the full interview
The Spiritual Core of Avatar
Begins at 37:45
Ten movies are up for Best Picture at this year's Oscars, but the real buzz centers on just one: Avatar. Much of the film takes place on a distant moon, Pandora, where beautiful, blue aliens live in communion with nature. Avatar’s theology, if you can call it that, has been celebrated and panned by religion trend spotters- even the Vatican weighed in through its official newspaper. It was not impressed. Craig Detweiler explains what religious themes he sees in the Oscar contender.
Craig Detweiler, editor of Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games with God
Web Extra: the full interview
Web Extra: Is the Twilight Saga a Mormon Story?
Even if you aren't familiar with the Twilight books, you probably know someone who is. The last book in the four-part series, Breaking Dawn, sold 1.3 million copies on its first day alone. The saga, about an ordinary teenage girl who falls in love with a vampire, has inspired fandom bordering on obsessive. One thing even many fans don't know, however, is that the theology of the Mormon Church, officially known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informs the moral core of the series.
Samira Mehta, Doctoral Candidate in American Religious Cultures at Emory University
