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11.05.09
On Being an "Amateur" Theologian
"After my conversation with Karen Armstrong, I felt that her personal trajectory of faith strengthens her personal appeal for modern readers. She is a formidable intellectual, but as a theologian she calls herself an amateur, in the full sense of the Latin root of that word 'amateur' — 'a lover' of her subject."
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10.29.09
When Nature's Tools Provide the Answers
"Hearing Doris Taylor speak a few months ago was a revelation. I knew I had found our way in to this topic. When it comes to stem cells — as to everything else in life, it turns out — the truth is complicated. And much of the story of stem cells — the big picture that arguments have obscured — falls outside the realm of the most passionately contested issues."
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10.22.09
On the Role of Creeds in Modern Society
"Jaroslav Pelikan understood what a difficult thing unchanging creeds can be for modern people. He knew as well as anyone that historically creeds were employed in part to consolidate power — both of church authority and of Christian empire. But he insisted on capturing a sense of the profound and positive reasons Christianity, alone among the major traditions, seemed to require creeds."
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10.15.09
The Power of Listening and Engaging with the "Other"
"This gets at a paradox that we rarely name in public, but that is true of every profound ecumenical or interreligious encounter I've experienced: when we approach the other with eyes and ears open, we come to know ourselves. The soil beneath our own feet grows richer."
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10.08.09
Grasping the Appeal of a Pop Culture Guru
"As I prepared for this interview, I read several accounts of Eckhart Tolle that described his demeanor as 'robotic.' But this conversation between us was warm and punctuated by laughter. I encountered a good teacher, and a man of true humility."
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