Multifaith Matters

Heron Michelle, Street Preachers, and Pagan Religious Freedoms

How might a member of a minority religion feel about aggressive Christian preaching at their sacred venues? Can such evangelistic efforts function in ways that restrict the religious freedoms of others? Heron Michelle, a Pagan, shares her perspective resulting from interactions with a street preacher outsider her business.

Heron (Greenville, NC) is a witch, priestess, artist, and mom. She is the founding high priestess of the Sojo Circle Coven, and she created a training program in modern witchcraft, which she’s taught year-round since 2010. Heron is the owner of the Sojourner Whole Earth Provisions metaphysical shop, and she’s a Reiki master, tarot reader, and clairvoyant. She writes the blog Witch on Fire at Patheos Pagan, and she regularly lectures at local universities, festivals, and conferences.

Heron Michelle’s website

Witch on Fire blog

Video of Heron talking to EC Street Preacher

“Pagan ‘metaphysical shops navigate threats from Christian critics” at RN

“Christian groups step up harassment of pagan festivals” at RNS

For more on a respectful and informed Pagan-Christian dialogue see the book Beyond the Burning Times: A Pagan and Christian in Dialogue by Philip Johnson and Gus diZerega (Lion, 2008).

You can listen to Multifaith Matters on your favorite podcast platform, including Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and iHeart Radio.

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#Paganism #religiousfreedom #evangelism

Catherine Wessinger on the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Branch Davidian Tragedy

April 19, 2023 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the fire which ended the standoff between federal agents and members of the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas. Much has been learned about this tragedy over the last few decades, and it continues to be relevant to events in politics and religion. Catherine Wessinger is our guest sharing her expertise in this area.

Catherine Wessinger is the Rev. H. James Yamauchi, S.J. Professor of the History of Religions at Loyola University New Orleans. She is the author of How the Millennium Comes Violently: From Jonestown to Heaven’s Gate (2000); editor of Millennialism, Persecution, and Violence: Historical Cases (2000); editor of The Oxford Handbook of Millennialism (2011); editor of three Branch Davidian survivor autobiographies for Bonnie Haldeman (David Koresh’s mother), Sheila Martin, and Clive Doyle. She has served as a co-general editor of Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions since 2000.

 

She has written a number of book chapters and a journal article on the Branch Davidians-federal agents conflict outside Waco, Texas.

Among the most significant is the 2009 journal article, “Deaths in the Fire at the Branch Davidians’ Mount Carmel: Who Bears Responsibility?” in Nova Religio; and a chapter titled, “The FBI’s ‘Cult War’ against the Branch Davidians,” in the 2017 edited volume,The FBI and Religion.

 

Her YouTube channel—Catherine Wessinger—is devoted to interviews with people involved with the Branch Davidians-federal agents conflict at Mount Carmel Center, outside Waco, Texas, as well as video footage of the 1993 conflict, and video of past Branch Davidian memorials.

 

She is one of four scholars who are featured in the 2020 film titled The Waco Branch Davidian Tragedy: What Have We Learned or Not Learned? produced by Reunion Institute, published on her YouTube channel. The separate chapters of this nearly three-hour film are also available on her YouTube channel.

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Ida Glaser and the Reading the Bible in the Context of Islam project

Ida Glaser leads the Reading the Bible in the Context of Islam project at the Center for Muslim-Christian Studies, Oxford, UK, and is the Director of Center for Muslim and Christian Studies, Houston, TX. She also overseas the International Partnership and the Langham Bible Commentaries from Muslim Contexts project on behalf of the Solomon Academic Trust. Previously she taught in the areas of Qur'an and Bible and History of the Muslim-Christian Dialogue at the University of Edinburgh.

Center for Muslim-Christian Studies, UK: https://www.cmcsoxford.org.uk/about-us/our-team/publications-ida-glaser

Center for Muslim-Christian Studies, Houston: https://www.cmcshouston.org/

Thinking Biblically about Islam: Genesis, Transfiguration, Transformation (London: Langham, 2016) (With Hannah Kay): https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Biblically-about-Islam-Transfiguration/dp/1839731915/

Routledge Reading the Bible in Islamic Context Series: https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Biblical-Interpretation-in-Islamic-Context-Series/book-series/RBIIC

The Bible and Other Faiths: what does the Lord require of us? (Leicester: IVP, 2005): https://www.amazon.com/Bible-Other-Faiths-Require-Christian/dp/1907713050/

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#IdaGlaser #Islam #Quran #Bible

Dr. Benno van den Toren on interfaith apologetics

Today's cosmopolitan, multicultural, and multifaith environments call for new approaches to apologetics. In order to free Christian apologetics from dominant Western habits of mind ill-suited to interreligious dialogue, we must listen and speak with both humility and confidence. In their book Humble Confidence: A Model for Interfaith Apologetics, Benno van den Toren and Kang-San Tan provide a global, intercultural introduction to Christian apologetics. Building on recent developments in apologetics and missiology, as well as their experience teaching internationally in Europe, Asia, and Africa, Van den Toren and Tan offer an approach that is conversational, patient, holistic, and embodied. Benno van den Toren unpacks this in our conversation.

Benno van den Toren (PhD, Theological University in Kampen) is professor of intercultural theology at the Protestant Theological University in Groningen, the Netherlands. He has taught in French-speaking Africa and at Wycliffe Hall at Oxford University, and his books include Christian Apologetics as Cross-Cultural Dialogue and Reasons for My Hope: Responding to Non-Christian Friends.

Benno van den Toren: https://www.pthu.nl/en/about-us/people/b.vandentoren/

Humble Confidence: A Model for Interfaith Apologetics: https://www.amazon.com/Humble-Confidence-Model-Interfaith-Apologetics/dp/0830852948/

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#BennovandenTorren #KangsanTan #interfaith #apologetics

Jack Hunter and an Anthropology of the Paranormal

Dr. Jack Hunter provides an anthropological perspective on the paranormal. Hunter is an anthropologist exploring the borderlands of ecology, religion and the paranormal. He lives in the hills of Mid-Wales with his family. He is an Honorary Research Fellow with the Alister Hardy Religious Experience Research Centre, University of Wales Trinity Saint David and a Research Fellow with the Parapsychology Foundation, New York. He is the founder and editor of Paranthropology: Journal of Anthropological Approaches to the Paranormal, the author of Spirits, Gods and Magic: An Introduction to the Anthropology of the Supernatural (2019) and Engaging the Anomalous (2018). He is the editor of Strange Dimensions: A Paranthropology Anthology (2015), Damned Facts: Fortean Essays on Religion, Folklore and the Paranormal (2016), and is co-editor with Dr. David Luke of Talking With the Spirits: Ethnographies from Between the Worlds (2014). To find out more about his work visit www.jack-hunter.webstarts.com.

Deep Weird: The Varieties of High Strangeness Experience: https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Weird-Varieties-Strangeness-Experience/dp/1786772248/

Damned Facts: Fortean Essays on Religion, Folklore, and the Paranormal: https://www.amazon.com/Damned-Facts-Religion-Folklore-Paranormal-ebook/dp/B01BRL7UUS/

Jack Hunter's Deep Weird Dialogues: https://www.youtube.com/@Discarnates

You can listen to Multifaith Matters on your favorite podcast platform, including Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and iHeart Radio.

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#paranormal #JackHunter

James Keenan on Moral Theology, the New Testament and Multifaith Encounters

Moral theology provides a helpful but often neglected avenue for multifaith engagement beyond Christian emphasis upon evangelism and apologetics. James Keenan discusses the New Testament's teaching on virtue ethics, particularly humility and love, and how these can be practiced in multifaith contexts. Keenan is Vice Provost for Global Engagement and Canisius Professor, Director of The Jesuit Institute at Boston College. He is the author of several books, including one related to this conversation, Jesus and Virtue Ethics: Building Bridges Between New Testament Studies and Moral Theology, which he co-authored with Daniel Harrington. 

James Keenan: https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/mcas/departments/theology/people/faculty-directory/james-keenan-sj.html

Jesus and Virtue Ethics: https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Virtue-Ethics-Building-Testament/dp/0742549941/

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#moraltheology #virtueethics #NewTestamentStudies #JamesKeenan #multifaith

Stephen Bullivant on Nonverts and the Making of Ex-Christian America

One of world's leading experts on contemporary atheism and nonreligiosity, sociologist and theologian Stephen Bullivant draws on dozens of interviews, original analysis of high-quality survey data, and a wealth of cutting-edge studies, to present an entertaining and insightful exploration of America's ex-religious landscape. Bullivant holds professorial positions at St. Mary’s University, London, and the University of Notre Dame, Sydney. He has doctorates in theology and sociology. His studies of contemporary nonreligiosity have received wide international coverage, including from the BBC, New York Times, Economist, Financial Times and Der Speigel. In this episode we are discussing his book Nonverts: The Making of Ex-Christian America (OUP, 2022).

Stephen Bullivant: https://www.stmarys.ac.uk/staff-directory/stephen-bullivant

Nonverts: The Making of Ex-Christian America:  https://www.amazon.com/Nonverts-Ex-Christian-America-Stephen-Bullivant/dp/0197587445/  

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#Nones #Nonverts #StephenBullivant #atheism

Andrew Perriman and narrative-historical approaches to the gospel, salvation, hell and multifaith

What fresh possibilities open up with a narrative-historical approach to the Bible? Andrew Perriman discusses this in light of the gospel, salvation, hell, and then connecting dots to multifaith encounters. Perriman lives in London, UK. He is the author of several books, including Re: Mission: A Vision of Hope for a Post-Eschatological Church; The Future of the People of God: Reading Romans Before and After Western Christendom; End of Story: Same-Sex Relationships and the Narratives of Evangelical Mission; and his latest volume In the Form of a God: The Pre-existence of the Exalted Christ in Paul. He also published a collection of blog posts on hell and heaven called Hell and Heaven in Narrative Perspective.

Andrew Perriman's blog P.OST: https://www.postost.net/2008/10/about-me

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#AndrewPerriman #narrativehistorical #gospel #soteriology #hell #multifaith

Mohammed Dajani on rhe Israeli Palestinian Conflict

Mohammed Dajani addresses the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Dajani is a Jerusalem-born scholar and peace activist who holds two doctorate degrees. He is Founder of the Wasatia Islamic moderate movement in Palestine which he created in 2007 to promote moderation and reconciliation, peace, tolerance, and justice. He is Founder and Director of Wasatia Graduate Academic Institute.

Wasatia: http://www.wasatiamovement.com/

Our prior podcasts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict:

Daniel Bar-Tal on the psychology of the conflict: https://youtu.be/wXf3itk4fSo

Munther Isaac and a Palestinian Christian perspective: https://youtu.be/RGxM2yegaHk

You can listen to Multifaith Matters on your favorite podcast platform, including Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and iHeart Radio.

Learn more about our work at https://www.multifaithmatters.org.

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 #MohammedDajani #WasatiaMovement #IsraeliPalestinianConflict

June Everett on After School Satan Clubs and a Response to Good News Clubs

June Everett is Campaign Director for the After School Club, and an ordained minister of The Satanic Temple. In this conversation she shares her personal journey, discusses the After School Satan Clubs, and responds to our prior podcast with Lydia Kaiser of Child Evangelism Fellowship and their Good News Clubs.

After School Satan Club: https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/after-school-satan

Lydia Kaiser of Child Evangelism Fellowship on the Good News Club: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-jh7nd-13725eb

Lucien Greaves on the After School Satan Club: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-zj835-11b1fe6

Stephen Bradford Long on The Satanic Temple: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-cv29w-fa8d1c

For a good academic discussion of TST see Joseph Laycock's "Speak of the Devil: How The Satanic Temple is Changing the Way We Talk About Religion" (Oxford University Press, 2020). https://www.amazon.com/Speak-Devil-Satanic-Changing-Religion/dp/0190948493

Learn more about our work at https://www.multifaithmatters.org. 

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#AfterSchoolSatan #TheSatanicTemple #Satanism #ChildEvangelismFellowship