Saving Paradise
- play show:
Date: 17 December 2008
The Changing Face of Jesus
For the first 1,000 years of Christianity, Jesus was depicted as a living, vibrant being: a shepherd, an infant, a bearded elder. Then something happened. Glimpses of joy were replaced by images of suffering–think the blood-soaked Jesus in "The Passion of the Christ." So where did paradise go? And what does that say about how Christians view salvation?
Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Ann Parker, authors of "Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of This World For Crucifixion and Empire"
Don’t Light the Menorah So Close to the Christmas Tree
Begins at 22:48
Mary Helene Rosenbaum was raised a Roman Catholic. Her husband, Ned, was raised a Jew. So every December, like the more than 28 million Americans living in mixed-religion households, they face some tough questions. Christmas tree or Menorah? Eggnog or Manischewitz ? And when, exactly, do you open the presents?
Mary Helene Rosenbaum, director of the Dovetail Institute for Interfaith Family Resources
Ned Rosenbaum, professor of Judaic Studies at the University of Kentucky
Feeding the Body to Feed the Spirit
Begins at 42:25
More families in the US will go hungry this holiday season than in recent years. Faith groups like Food For All DC, a hunger relief team founded by contemplative Hindus, are marshaling to respond to the crisis.
Produced by Mike Leard
Commentary: Bring Out the Kwanzaa Kinara
Begins at 51:49
Kwanzaa was created by a Black Studies professor in the late 60s as a way to celebrate black heritage. Some call it a pseudo-holiday, but when Melonyce McAfee (pictured) and her family tried it out, back in the early 90s, it turned out to be more meaningful than they expected.
Melonyce McAfee, copy editor at Slate Magazine
This Week's Interfaith Calendar
Dec. 21- Yule (Wiccan)
On this night, the longest and darkest of the year, Wiccans celebrate the Winter Solstice. Christmas is actually an adaptation of this ancient holiday.
Dec. 22-29- Hanukkah (Jewish)
Hanukkah commemorates the victory of a small group of Macabee Jews over the strong Syrian Greek army, back in 162 B.C.E. When they went to re-dedicate the temple, they found a tiny bottle of oil that miraculously burned for 8 nights—thus the 8 nights of Hanukkah.
Dec. 25- Christmas (Christian)
This day honors the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, which is dated to between 7 and 2 BCE. While the origin of Christmas is old, its icon is not—the jolly, gift-giving version of Santa Clause didn’t appear until the late 1800s.
