Ethics and Religion Talk
Ethics and Religion talk - Welcoming LGBTQ I
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 08-19-2019 under OPINION
Along the same line, Carol H. asks...I was a member of the UMC. In the same "rulebook" it states both that all people are of sacred worth and the practice of homosexuality is not compatible with scripture. Is that saying a person can be...
Ethics and Religion Talk: How Do You Feel about Interfaith [Romantic] Relationships
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 08-12-2019 under OPINION
Note: In the previous column, four of the Ethics and Religion Talk panelists discussed this question as it relations to interfaith social relationships and friendships. This week, three panelists respond to the question’s implications for...
Ethics and Religion Talk: How Do You Feel about Interfaith [Social] Relationships
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 08-05-2019 under OPINION
Note: In this column, four of the Ethics and Religion Talk panelists discuss this question as it relates to interfaith social relationships and friendships. Next week, three panelists will respond to the question’s implications for romantic...
Ethics and Religion Talk: Was Jesus a Communist?
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 07-28-2019 under OPINION
Tanner S writes, “I've always been fascinated by the parallels between the teachings of Jesus Christ and Communism. The allegory of the good Samaritan, loaves and fishes, and the beating of bankers comes to mind, as do the frequent tirades...
Ethics and Religion Talk: Accepting and Questioning One's Religion of Origin
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 07-22-2019 under OPINION
Ty Silzer, a former pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America, responds: “I heard a comedian who lost his faith refer to it like this (I paraphrase): ‘I had all these beliefs. They were like pieces of furniture that had been placed in...
Ethics and Religion Talk: Sabbath Practices
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 07-15-2019 under OPINION
[Note: I have a lot to say about Sabbath observance, but due to space constraints, will have to wait for another opportunity.] Fred Stella, the Pracharak (Outreach Minister) for the West Michigan Hindu Temple, responds: “As it stands, there is...
Ethics and Religion Talk: Healing From Religious Trauma, part 2
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 07-08-2019 under OPINION
This week, we present a second set of responses to a very important question raised by Lorri R.: “How should a person find healing if they were traumatized during early childhood religious experiences either by sexual abuse in the church, by...
Ethics and Religion Talk: May One Allow One's Pacemaker Battery to Die?
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 07-01-2019 under OPINION
From Jim V: There is an elderly patient under hospice care with a pacemaker, stable, not in distress or expected to die in the near future, lucid and oriented cognitively, and ambulatory without aid of a walker or wheel chair. His pacemaker’s...
Ethics and Religion Talk: Healing From Religious Trauma, part 1
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 06-24-2019 under OPINION
Here is one set of responses. I’ll have a second set of responses in a couple of weeks. Fred Stella, the Pracharak (Outreach Minister) for the West Michigan Hindu Temple, responds: “I would certainly recommend counseling, but I’d...
Ethics and Religion Talk: What Does it Mean to be a Part of a Religious Community?, Part 2
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 06-17-2019 under OPINION
The Reverend Colleen Squires, minister at All Souls Community Church of West Michigan, a Unitarian Universalist Congregation, responds: “I often hear people say ‘I am spiritual but not religious.’ The statement seems to be...