Warmest Greetings
In holding the vision of an increasingly inclusive, connected, kind, caring, compassionate, and peaceful world, I share these websites:
Religious Tolerance @ http://www.religioustolerance.org/ who welcomes "religious conservatives, liberals, mainliners, pagans, progressives, secularists, etc."
The website states that it is unlike almost all other religious sites:
- We acknowledge religious freedom, tolerance, and diversity as positive cultural values.
- We do not promote our own religious beliefs. We can't because we are a multi-faith group. We try to explain the full diversity of religious belief in North America, from Asatru to Zoroastrianism, including Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, Wicca, other religious groups, and spiritual/ethical/secular groups.
- We try to describe all viewpoints on controversial religious topics objectively and fairly. We cover a broad range of topics, from whether women should have access to abortion to whether homosexuals and bisexuals should be given equal rights, including same-sex marriage, and dozens of other "hot" topics.
The site mandate is to:
- "Promote religious tolerance and freedom;
- Objectively describe religious faiths in all their diversity; and
- Objectively describe controversial topics from all viewpoints."
I love their motto:
- "A study of the world's religions will lead to an understanding of religious diversity.
- This understanding can lead to inter-religious dialogue.
- Dialogue may lead to peace among religions.
- Peace among religions would lead to peace among nations."
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Among many others which promote understanding and respect for diverse beliefs is Meaning of Life.TV @ http://meaningoflife.tv/ which brings together "Cosmic Thinkers on Camera". A diversity of people from a variety of traditions were interviewed on these key questions:
Being good without God
Daniel Dennett Francis Fukuyama Ursula Goodenough Steven Pinker Robert Pollack Huston Smith Edward O. Wilson
Consciousness
Daniel Dennett Freeman Dyson Francis Fukuyama Ursula Goodenough John Maynard Smith Steven Pinker Edward O. Wilson
Death
Lorenzo Albacete Daniel Dennett John Maynard Smith Brian Swimme Edward O. Wilson
Direction in evolution
Daniel Dennett Ursula Goodenough John Haught John Maynard Smith Arthur Peacocke
Direction in history
Lorenzo Albacete Freeman Dyson Francis Fukuyama John Maynard Smith Steven Pinker
Evolution of religion
Lorenzo Albacete Owen Gingerich Keith Ward
Faith and reason
Freeman Dyson Owen Gingerich Joseph Goldstein Arthur Peacocke Robert Pollack Sharon Salzberg Huston Smith
Free will
Daniel Dennett Joseph Goldstein John Maynard Smith Arthur Peacocke John Polkinghorne Omid Safi Edward O. Wilson
Limits of science
Freeman Dyson Francis Fukuyama Owen Gingerich John Haught Steven Pinker Huston Smith Keith Ward
Mystical experiences
Karen Armstrong Andrew Newberg Omid Safi Huston Smith
Pantheism
Owen Gingerich John Haught Arthur Peacocke
Quantum weirdness
Daniel Dennett John Polkinghorne Sharon Salzberg Huston Smith Brian Swimme Keith Ward
Religion in a global age
Lorenzo Albacete Karen Armstrong Francis Fukuyama Owen Gingerich Ursula Goodenough John Haught Arthur Peacocke John Polkinghorne Omid Safi Huston Smith Brian Swimme Keith Ward
Science and religion
Karen Armstrong Freeman Dyson John Maynard Smith Steven Pinker Brian Swimme Edward O. Wilson
Self-transcendence
Karen Armstrong Sharon Salzberg Keith Ward
The anthropic principle
Freeman Dyson Owen Gingerich John Polkinghorne Brian Swimme
The Godhead
Andrew Newberg Huston Smith Keith Ward
The problem of evil
Joseph Goldstein Ursula Goodenough Arthur Peacocke John Polkinghorne Robert Pollack Omid Safi Sharon Salzberg Huston Smith Keith Ward
What is God?
Lorenzo Albacete Karen Armstrong Owen Gingerich Joseph Goldstein John Haught Arthur Peacocke John Polkinghorne Omid Safi Brian Swimme
Why meditate?
Joseph Goldstein Andrew Newberg Sharon Salzberg
Complete interview
Lorenzo Albacete Karen Armstrong Daniel Dennett Freeman Dyson Francis Fukuyama Owen Gingerich Joseph Goldstein Ursula Goodenough John Haught John Maynard Smith Andrew Newberg Arthur Peacocke Steven Pinker John Polkinghorne Robert Pollack Omid Safi Sharon Salzberg Huston Smith Brian Swimme Keith Ward Edward O. Wilson
I personally especially loved the interview with Huston Smith: http://meaningoflife.tv/video.php?speaker=smith&topic=goodwogod.
Of course, I fell in love with this beautiful human being and his radiant smile and spirit when I first heard and saw him interviewed over a decade ago by Bill Moyers. Huston Smith's website also states that he "is Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion and Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus, Syracuse University. For fifteen years he was Professor of Philosophy at M.I.T. and for a decade before that he taught at Washington University in St. Louis. Most recently he has served as Visiting Professor of Religious Studies, University of California, Berkeley. Holder of twelve honorary degrees, Smith’s fourteen books include The World’s Religions which has sold over 2 ½ million copies, and Why Religion Matters which won the Wilbur Award for the best book on religion published in 2001. In 1996 Bill Moyers devoted a 5-part PBS Special, The Wisdom of Faith with Huston Smith, to his life and work. His film documentaries on Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism, and Sufism have all won International. awards, and The Journal of Ethnomusicology lauded his discovery of Tibetan multiphonic chanting, Music of Tibet, as “an important landmark in the study of music." (http://www.hustonsmith.net/)
May we all emulate the wisdom of respect, compassion, seeking, and understanding which Huston Smith so profoundly models for us all. May we all open our hearts more and more deeply to ourselves and to all others.
Namaste ~ Molly
* * *
Smith has devoted his life to the study of Christianity,
Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Hinduism.
He believes in them all.
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