Ethics and Religion Talk

Ethics and Religion Talk: Is renting space to Unitarians a defamation of God's name?

by (Rabbi David J.B...)

Submitted 11-26-2018 under OPINION

Sometimes people send me sensitive questions for the column anonymously. Like the high school teacher who wanted to know what the panel thought about the ethics of going to a nude beach. But if you want to criticize me, please sign your name. I...

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Ethics and Religion Talk: What are you grateful for? Part 2

by (Rabbi David J.B...)

Submitted 11-19-2018 under OPINION

Happy Thanksgiving! Let’s remember what has enriched our lives during this past year. This week, the Ethics and Religion Talk panel continue to answer the question, ‘What is the one thing in your life, in your community, in the world...

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Ethics and Religion Talk: What are you grateful for? Part 1

by (Rabbi David J.B...)

Submitted 11-12-2018 under OPINION

We welcome the Reverend Rachel J. Bahr, pastor of Plymouth UCC, to the panel. She replaces the recently retired Reverend Doug Van Doren. Her response: “My wife and I were married February 18, 2018, and it certainly was a mountaintop experience...

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Ethics and Religion Talk: Does God really hate divorce?

by (Rabbi David J.B...)

Submitted 11-05-2018 under OPINION

Fred Stella, the Pracharak (Outreach Minister) for the West Michigan Hindu Temple, responds: “To begin with, God doesn’t ‘hate’ anything. In Chapter IX of the Bhagavad Gita it states, ‘I know not hate, I know not favor...

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Ethics and Religion Talk: Non-Biblical sources of wisdom

by (Rabbi David J.B...)

Submitted 10-29-2018 under OPINION

The Reverend Colleen Squires, minister at All Souls Community Church of West Michigan, a Unitarian Universalist Congregation, responds: “This may surprise many but most Unitarian Universalists do not rely on scripture to make our...

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Ethics and Religion Talk: Alternative Truth?

by (Rabbi David J.B...)

Submitted 10-22-2018 under OPINION

The Rev. Rachel J. Bahr, pastor of Plymouth UCC, responds: I don't believe that the goal among Progressive Christians is that there are multiple truths or alternative facts. Rather, when a person says that they are going to speak their truth, it...

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Ethics and Religion Talk: Responding to reader feedback

by (Rabbi David J.B...)

Submitted 10-15-2018 under OPINION

A woman contacted me through the Grand Rapids Press regarding the lack of racial diversity on the panel; specifically, she wanted to know why there was no African-American panelist. First, I explained that it is my goal for the panel to match the...

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Ethics and Religion Talk: On which holiday brings the most joy, and which brings the least

by (Rabbi David J.B...)

Submitted 10-08-2018 under OPINION

The Reverend Colleen Squires, minister at All Souls Community Church of West Michigan, a Unitarian Universalist Congregation, responds: “Once a year we celebrate Homecoming Sunday. It is normally held the first Sunday after Labor Day....

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Ethics and Religion Talk: Examining the ethics of eating lab-grown flesh

by (Rabbi David J.B...)

Submitted 10-01-2018 under OPINION

Several companies are deep into development of lab-grown meat. It is made by taking a sample of the animal’s muscle tissue and growing layers of muscle and fat in a lab environment. It is meat - but no animals are harmed in its production....

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Ethics and Religion Talk: How does your tradition react to suicide?

by (Rabbi David J.B...)

Submitted 09-24-2018 under OPINION

Dr Sahibzada, the Director of Islamic Center and Imam of the Mosque of Grand Rapids, responds: A person’s life consists of two aspects in Islam: Faith and actions. The person is a believer and suicidal action is not a rejection of faith but...

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