January 2012 - Meaning Making

January 15, 2012

Photo: Marcus Braybrooke

Photo: Marcus Braybrooke

“Meaning making,” a particularly human activity, can stretch us to our intellectual, spiritual limits. But it is much more, influencing our behavior, capable of calling for the ‘best’ we have, and sometimes asking us to put our lives on the line. In the photo on the right, Paul Knitter, Maha Ghosananda, Irfan Khan and members of the International Interfaith Peace Council in the village of Acteal, Mexico, protest the massacre of 45 children, women, and men. Professor Knitter’s contribution to vital meaning making among all religious, spiritual traditions, is profiled in this issue.

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EDITORIAL

“Meaning” Brings Everyone to the Table by Paul Chaffee

REVIEWING THE YEAR

2011 Look Back in Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, December 21, 2011

INTERFAITH NEWS

Obama Hosts Religious Tolerance Conference for Muslim Governments – Pope Calls for “Shared Responsibility” Among Religions – U.S. Military Welcomes its First Hindu Chaplain – Faith Communities Educating Each Other in Singapore – Muskegon, Michigan, Dedicating a Year to Interfaith Understanding – Australian Interfaith Activists Oppose Domestic Violence – 35 Acres Purchased for Multifaith Neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska – Praying Together a 5-Year Tradition in Edmonton Abrahamic Communities – Haifa's Holidays Embrace Religious Differences – Muslim, Hindu, Christian Children Celebrate Together at One Pakistan School

INTERFAITH REPORTS

Mussie Hailu in Mogadishu, Somalia, and Durban, South Africa

 

Meaning Making

FOUNDATIONAL DOCUMENTS

The Oneness of the Human Family by Marcus Braybrooke

PAUL KNITTER & 21ST CENTURY RELIGION 

Pluralism - A Home For All Of Us by Paul Chaffee

INTERFAITH SKILL-SETS

When Wiccans & Evangelical Christians Become Friends by Don Frew

COMPARATIVE THEOLOGY

As Iron Sharpens Iron, So Does One Tradition Sharpen Another by Benjamin DeVan

INTERSPIRITUAL STUDENTS

Indian Spirituality at T Mobile Los Angeles by Ruth Broyde Sharone

 

“How Do I Make Meaning Out of Life?: 

SEVEN INTERRELIGIOUS LEADERS RESPOND 

How I Make Meaning in Life by Jim Burklo, Christian

Ice-breakers, Dancing, and Meaning Making by Vanessa Gomez, Humanist

What is Most Meaningful in My Life as a Buddhist by Rita Gross, Buddhist

Starting with Moksha and Karma Yoga by Samir Kalra, Hindu

One Thousand Words on “Meaning” by Nancy Fuchs Kreimer, Jewish

Faith and the Journey toward Meaning by Craig Phillips, Muslim

The Fiery Force that Sparkles in Everything by Yoland Trevino, Mayan

 

EIGHT YOUNG ADULTS RESPOND

State of Formation Weighs in on Meaning

Internal Diversity & Intra-Faith Conversations by Simran Jeet Singh, Sikh

Finding Meaning Within Judaism by Lauren Tuchman, Jewish

Meaning Making: The Religion that lets you live and let live by Sai Santosh Kolluru, Hindu

The Ocean of My Words by Phillipe Copeland, Baha'i

Meaning and meaning: An Important Difference by Kile Jones, Atheism, Secular Humanism, and Unitarian Universalist

The Search for Meaning by Myriam Francois-Cerrah, Muslim

Meaning vs. Hope by Yaira Robinson, Jewish

Making Sense of the Bible: What Grandma and Seminary Taught Me by Kit Evans, Christian

 

RESOURCES

New Harvard Journal Focuses on Comparative Theology by Sandy Westin

 

OPPORTUNITIES

RELIGIOUS CALENDAR