religion
Ethics and Religion Talk: Leaving a Group or Working for Change?
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 09-25-2019 under OPINION
Laura W. asks: “Where do you draw the line between helping to improve or change a group you are a part of, and leaving the group? For me personally, I would leave an extreme group but wonder about less extreme groups where people hold harmful...
Ethics and Religion Talk - Elder Sex Before Marriage
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 09-16-2019 under OPINION
Dr Sahibzada, the Director of Islamic Center and Imam of the Mosque of Grand Rapids, responds: “Having sex before getting married is not matter of being in late fifties or divorcee. It depends upon their faith category, cultural discipline and...
Ethics and Religion Talk: What is the Secret of Happiness
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 09-09-2019 under OPINION
The Rev. Sandra Nikkel, head pastor of Conklin Reformed Church, responds: "Everyone is in search of happiness and many people are looking for it in success, money, power, addiction, sex or indulgence. But none of these can truly satisfy us in...
Ethics and Religion Talk: Should We be Abolitionists Today?
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 09-03-2019 under OPINION
[Note: Abolitionists are people who try to dismantle the institutions, such as the criminal justice system, that benefit from modern day slavery.] The Reverend Colleen Squires, minister at All Souls Community Church of West Michigan, a...
Ethics and Religion talk - Welcoming LGBTQ II
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 08-26-2019 under OPINION
Along the same line, Carol H. asks: I was a member of the UMC. In the “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 gay as...
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...