RSS FEEDPatriotism and Religion
On this Fourth of July weekend, I reread the words of James Madison, written in a letter to Dr. Jacob de la Motta and Mordecai M. Noah in 1820:
“…Among the features peculiar to the political system of the United States is the perfect equality of rights which it secures to every religious sect. And [...]
For Ourselves, Our Nation
One becomes, perhaps, and correctly so, speechless in the face of such enormous events as occurred in Arizona this weekend. After the stillness, though, I look to the words of wise ones from my memory and from my library to fill my thoughts and guide my own speech and actions. Here are some [...]
All Paths
A quote from Vivekananda in 1893 at his address to the Parliament of Religions in Chicago:
“…I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: ‘As the different [...]
Islam, toward understanding
Of the major Semitic religions, many westerners no doubt know the least about Islam, which, in fact, comprises some 20% of the world’s population. Unfortunately too few people actually know the connections between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This gulf of ignorance has led to a great deal of prejudice and stereotypes.
For example, many people equate [...]
Xenophanes Quote-6th Century BC
“The Ethiops say that their gods are flat-nosed and black.
While the Thracians say that theirs have blue eyes and red hair.
Yet if cattle or horses or lions had hands and could draw
And could sculpture like men, then the horses would draw their gods
Like horses, and cattle like cattle, and each would then shape
Bodies of gods [...]
A Provocative Look at Thanksgiving
T E A C H I N G A B O U T T H A N K S G I V I N G
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Carriers of Water in the Desert
A quote from Gerald Hausman: “Recently a Native American friend said, ‘We are all carriers of water now. Carriers in the desert. We cannot drop even a drop. We must share what we have with everyone. This is the challenge beyond measure.’ In reaching out through the universality of [...]
A Quote from Ramakrishna
“We are all calling on the same God. Jealousy and malice need not be. Some say that God is formless, and some that God has form. I say, let one man meditate on God with form if he believes in form, and let another meditate on the formless Deity if he does [...]