Taking the Long View on Democracy in Iran
- play show:
Date: 25 June 2009
An American Bishop in Tehran
Last year, the Episcopal Bishop of Washington visited Iran to discuss the impact of democracy on politics and religion. His audience? The man who is now at the center of Iran’s disputed elections, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In this special rebroadcast from January, Bishop John Chane recounts his conversation with the Aytaollah, who is that country’s spiritual leader and highest authority.
Bishop John Bryson Chane, the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, D.C.
Shalom Auslander: Incurably, Miserably Religious
Begins at 22 min 30 sec
Shalom Auslander has got a bone to pick with God. Raised an Orthodox Jew, he reflects on what he learned about the Big Man Upstairs – an angry god who writes rules, punishes you for eating a cheeseburger, and walks around drunk in His underwear.
Shalom Auslander, author of Foreskin’s Lament
Made Perfectly, and Disabled
Begins at 43 min 49 sec
For people of faith living with disability, an equal place in church doesn’t mean just wheelchair ramps. They struggle with their fellow believers’ inability to understand them, and with their own trouble understanding why God made them the way they are. But instead of asking, "Why me?" many say, "Why not me?"
Laura Lee Wright, Team Leader for Access Ministry at Northland Church, Orlando, Fla.
This Week's Interfaith Calendar
July 7 - Asalha Puja Day (Theraveda Buddhist)
In Thailand and other predominantly Theravedin cultures, Buddhists honor the Buddha’s very first sermon, which he delivered to five of his disciples in the Deer Park near Benares, India.
He outlined the four noble truths, which form the core of Buddhist teaching. They are:
1. Life involves suffering.
2. The origin of suffering is attachment.
3. The cessation of suffering is attainable.
4. The eightfold path leads to the cessation of suffering.
The components of the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path:
1. Right View
2. Right Intention
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration
Want to learn more? Listen to actress Vinessa Shaw and singer-songwriter Ravenna describe their journeys along the path to Enlightenment.
