Godspeed Institute

September 26, 2010

September 19, 2010

September 12, 2010

September 5, 2010

August 29, 2010

BUDDHISM. If the spiritual concepts of emptiness and selflessness have attracted you, baffled you, or made you feel somehow ill at ease, this program can shed light on these and other gifts of Buddhism. Carole Hallundbaek interviews Dr. John D. Dunne, associate professor in the Department of Religion at Emory University. He was educated at Amherst College and Harvard University, where he received his Ph.D. from the Committee on the Study of Religion. Dr. Dunne is a co-director of Emory's Collaborative for Contemplative Studies, a Fellow of the Mind and Life Institute, and an advisor to the federally funded Center for Investigating Healthy Minds. Before joining the Emory community, he conducted research at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland and Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in India. The author of “Foundations of the Dharmakirti's Philosophy,” his work focuses on Buddhist philosophy and contemplative practice, especially on the concept of "mindfulness" in both theoretical and practical contexts, as well as the metaphysics of “emptiness” and "selflessness." Topics in this lively hour include: the origins and development of Buddhism; the Four Noble Truths; the cultural quest for happiness; identifying our dissatisfaction as misunderstanding of our own identity and that of the world; the Path for finding happiness; unhappiness as a result of clinging to a notion of personal identity that does not exist; unhappiness as a result of thinking of the past or the future, which do not presently exist; the importance of slowing down our busyness; meditation; mindfulness; selflessness; emptiness; and much more. For more information, please visit Dr. Dunne: http://religion.emory.edu/faculty/dunne.html Emory's Collaborative for Contemplative Studies: http://www.emory.edu/religions&humanspirit/Religion%20pages/Contemplative%20Studies.htm Center for Investigating Healthy Minds: http://www.investigatinghealthyminds.org/

August 22, 2010

A PEACEMAKER AMONG JEWS, CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS. Michael Hallundbaek interviews Peter Ochs, the Edgar M. Bronfman Professor of Modern Judaic Studies at the University of Virginia. A prolific author, Ochs holds a Ph.D. and B.A. from Yale, an M.A. from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, and has held teaching positions at Drew University, Colgate, and the University of Maryland at College Park, as well as visiting lectureships at Hebrew Union College and Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the co-founder of the Children of Abraham Institute, an organization that focuses specifically on the three Abrahamic Religions -- Judaism, Christianity, and Islam -- and on the conflicts that divide peoples who otherwise, according to the web site, “share allegiance to the same God.” Ochs is also co-founder of the Society for Scriptural Reasoning, which seeks to bridge the gap between faith and reason in scriptural interpretation. Since 1994 he has practiced Scriptural Reasoning with Jewish, Muslim and Christian scholars, a practice that began as academic, and then grew to have broader benefits, as he says, “offering the broader public a way of practicing peace at a time of inter-religious tension and conflict.” In this fascinating hour, Ochs describes what inspired him to begin these organizations that seek to build understanding between Jewish, Christian and Muslim believers; he explains what ‘scriptural reasoning’ is; the origins and continuing relationship between the three Abrahamic faiths; how the Jewish people developed from the ancient Sumerians or Iraqis, and how the concept of “one God” developed; how Judaism, Christianity and Islam all relate to each other through their common ancestor, Abraham, as well as surprising points of consensus in the Old Testament, New Testament and Qur'an; and how the students of these sibling texts often “study in tears.” Dr. Ochs continues to share about his book “Breaking the Tablets: Jewish Theology After Shoah,” or after the Holocaust; how American or Western culture affects Jewish spirituality today; challenges of and suggestions to the ‘secular’ Jew; how the conflict between Israel and Palestine is a deterrent to new members of the faith; where Judaism is going, and Ochs’ perspective on what will help guide it into the future; more. For more information, please visit The Journal of Scriptural Reasoning: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/journals/jsrforum/ And the Children of Abraham Institute (CHAI): http://etext.virginia.edu/journals/abraham/

August 8, 2010

CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM RELATIONS. Carole Hallundbaek interviews Dr. Ingrid Mattson, Professor of Islamic Studies and director of the Macdonald Center for Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford Seminary in Hartford, CT. Dr. Mattson is the author of 'The Story of the Qur’an: Its History and Place in Muslim Societies' and has written articles exploring the relationship between Islamic law and society, as well as gender and leadership issues in contemporary Muslim communities. In 2006, Dr Mattson was elected President of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). Topics explored in this hour include: an exploration of Ramadan, the daily fast that is rigidly enjoined from dawn until sunset in the ninth month of the Muslim calendar; the spiritual gifts of Ramadan, including ensuring that the impoverished are able to enjoy the holiday; Mattson's childhood upbringing as a Catholic; the benefits of Catholicism, as well as the challenges that later altered her journey; her discovery and budding interest in Islam; her role as President of the Islamic Society of North America; the experience of women in both Christian and Muslim communities; common misconceptions about Islam; the different types of Muslims (Shiite, Sunni, Sufi); her work in Christian-Muslim Relations; the development of the Islamic Chaplaincy program in hospital, prison and military communities; "the heart of the faith" and "the core of the law" for Muslims; the gratitude she experiences as a driving force of her faith; and more.

July 25, 2010