radio conversations: St. Paul was not a Christian; 5 Questions; Jews & Jesus

recently heard on public radio:

=-=-=-= Science and the Search for Meaning: Five Questions
http://ttbook.org/book/science-and-search-meaning [5 part series]

1.What is Life? >Scientists can now explain virtually every stage of the evolutionary process. But there's a basic question that still mystifies even the best scientists: How did life first begin on Earth?
2. What Does Evolution Want? >Is the evolution of intelligent life inevitable, or a biological accident? We explore the question "What does evolution want?"
3. Does the Soul Still Matter? >Is the soul real or is it just an outdated myth? Some think it can be explained away by new insights from neuroscience and evolutionary biology.
4. Can Islam and Science Coexist? >Islamic culture was once the center of the scientific world. Today the Islamic world lags far behind the West in science and technology. What happened?
5. Can Science Be Sacred? >There's a growing movement of secular scientists who revel in the awe and wonder of nature. In fact, many consider this a religious experience – without God.

=-=-=-= Interfaith Voices, http://www.interfaithradio.org/ >>>Listen to the full interview

Jews, Jesus and the Stain of Deicide

In early March, the Pope published a book renouncing the idea that the Jewish people are responsible for the death of Christ. Though the story has been officially rejected by the Catholic Church since the 1960s, it never quite went away. Much of the myth derives from one line in the Gospel of Matthew, attributed to the Jewish crowd at the trial of Jesus: "Let his blood be on us and on our children." For those who read the Bible literally, it casts a stain of deicide — of killing a god — on Jews for all eternity.
To explore the roots of this story, and its consequences, we turn to James Carroll. He's one of the world's leading scholars on anti-Semitism and he has written the definitive book on the topic. Our story first aired in March 2011.
>>> James Carroll, author of "Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews: A History" and "Jerusalem, Jerusalem: How the Ancient City Ignited Our Modern World"

Paul the Jew

Begins at 22 min 30 sec

Many people trace the roots of anti-Semitism back to a single moment: St. Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus. That's when, according to traditional teachings, Paul rejected his Judaism for the new, improved version: Christianity. Bible scholar Pamela Eisenbaum says this interpretation of Paul is not only wrong, it's dangerous. She spoke to Laura Kwerel in October 2009.

>>> Pamela Eisenbaum, author of "Paul Was Not a Christian: The Original Message of a Misunderstood Apostle"

Project Conversion: Muslim Edition

Begins at 31 min 36 sec

Becoming an honorary Muslim - during Ramadan no less - was a hard at first. No food and drink during a heat wave in his hometown of North Carolina. Praying fives times a day. And growing out a beard - despite the objections of his wife- to follow the example of Muhammad. But he also experienced a profound, radically different understanding of what it means to be Muslim in America.

>>> Andrew Bowen, creator of Project Conversion

invocation, sanctuary, and other frames to focus our attention

Invocation at the Worship Service (but also the opening prayer at Tuesday Men's Bible study) is not so much to call God to the gathering, but the reverse;  to call ourselves to be present in the moment and to hearken to the abiding presence of God. In other words we address ourselves to God, but in fact it is we who need addressing; thus the calls are to our fellow worshippers and theirs to us.
     Similarly, the space for praise and prayer has no inherent supernatural mystery or capacity to bridge our workaday lives to the world of the divine. Instead that bridge is built with the gathering of the believers and those wanting-to-believe. The material trapping and arrangement of color,  symbols, textures and substances, sound and light may well frame or support the flesh and blood components of the undertaking, but these physical "props" are just that --place holders that point us in the right direction. Polytheists may well say the same of idols: these are not immanently divine. They are visual devices to hold the attention of the aspirant. What is the creative and living force cannot be set in stone or metals.