Archive for the ‘General’ Category
Christians praying for Muslims
Posted by: Shirley Paulson in General on October 27th, 2011
After the death of Muammar Ghaddafi, I wondered how I should be praying. Would Muslims want my Christian prayer? It’s a good question for interfaith dialogue, because many Christian churches hold that the true Christian mission is the evangelization of the world. And likewise, many Muslims have made it known that their religious objective is to convert the world. I pulled my thoughts together for a blog on “The Seeker,” for the Chicago Tribune: is.gd/70hCy2
It’ll be good for the world if we help each other think about our best prayers for each other. I’d love to hear more discussion from others on the subject.
God is for us, not against us
Posted by: Shirley Paulson in General on September 18th, 2011
My new “Daily Lift” was just posted, about how God never quits supporting us. That constancy reminds me of a mountain stream that just keeps moving downhill, regardless of the obstacles. It’s less than two minutes. Take a look, and let me know what you think: http://is.gd/axvtgH
Does religion make you happier?
Posted by: Shirley Paulson in General on September 10th, 2011
According to a new study published in the University of Illinois Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the relationship between religion, happiness, health, and wealth is a mixed bag. I just posted a blog on this subject on “The Seeker: a personal and professional quest for truth,” which is a blog on the Chicago Tribune. Take a look: is.gd/FFxVDd
Religion has been blamed for so much human agony, and many atheists point this out when they justify their unwillingness to look any deeper. The report claims the association of religion and subjective well-being is conditional on societal circumstances. But I think we would learn more about the happiness factor in religion if we would pay more attention to the good and bad practices of religion.
What about you? It would be great to hear from a variety of thinkers what their experiences are regarding the relationship between religion and happiness. Leave your comments below. And thanks for your thoughts!
Dalai Lama in Chicago today
Posted by: Shirley Paulson in General on July 18th, 2011
Manya Brachear, moderator on Chicago Tribune’s “The Seeker,” asks why the Dalai Lama is so universally appreciated. Here’s my contribution to the discussion: http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/religion_theseeker.
Women Who Followed Jesus
Posted by: Shirley Paulson in General on March 20th, 2011
About a year ago I started noticing an extraordinary parallel between women throughout the past two millennia who devoted their lives to following Jesus. They lived with total conviction in their God-given worth, and they held their ground against society’s opposition to it. Whether they were born in the first, 10th, or 20th century, they lived with unselfish courage and have left their mark in my heart.
I decided to find a way to tell their stories, and recently produced a first-person presentation of 14 of these extraordinary women. Here’s a brief video clip from a live presentation:
Two of the women from the Bible identified Jesus in his unique roles before his male disciples did – as the Messiah and the fact of his resurrection. It is odd that men get the credit for these “firsts” in the Bible, and the women’s stories are usually forgotten. But of even more interest is an observation on society’s perpetual belittling of women from Mechthilde of the Middle Ages. She noted that women were less tempted by worldly power, and because they were not able to please the powers of the Church, they were freer to nurture their natural affinity for the “love relations with God.”
Her comment provokes a powerful question for all of us, men and women, to ponder: What are those “love relations with God?” Must women always endure shame and persecution in exchange for the gift of this natural affinity? Or, must men always be blocked off, because they are privileged in society?
The full Women Who Followed Jesus presentation is available for rent on DVD. Make check out to and mail $5.98 to “Spirituality and Christianity,” c/o Heather Sholeen, 437 Washington, Barrington, IL 60010. Re line: Women Who Followed Jesus
Mary Magdalene and Catholic womenpriests
Posted by: Shirley Paulson in General on July 26th, 2010
Episode 30 is a conversation with Barbara Zeman and Shirley Paulson about the connection between Mary Magdalene of 2000 years ago and the recent Vatican action regarding the ordination of women.
It’s an especially poignant topic for Barbara, since she is an ordained Catholic priest herself. She and I share a special appreciation for Mary Magdalene, as we find her an example of Christian leadership. Scholars are fascinated with this woman, because she exemplifies so many things right and wrong in the history of Christianity.
Here was a woman of obvious spiritual maturity who was a leader of the apostles
during the time of Jesus and immediately after. But her male detractors succeeded in marginalizing or misconstruing her message and place among Christian thinkers and leaders. But her re-emergence as an important Christian in recent years is causing a great deal of re-thinking among scholars and church leaders.
It is ironic that only two days after the Vatican announced its new policy regarding sex abuse among priests – managing to equate the horror of pedophilia with the ordination of women – Barbara Zeman is giving a homily on the subject of honoring Mary Magdalene. Listen to our discussion on women leaders. We raise the point that there is a critical difference between a servant leader and a servant governed or manipulated by someone else. Both can serve, but the former serves according to her/his own heart. The latter serves due to the manipulation of others. Power and prestige is not the goal, but exercising the authority of one’s own conscience is.
- See Barbara’s poem: She goes before us
- USA today report on Vatican statement on child sex abuse
- Catholic womenpriests press release on Vatican statement
Dialogue with Buddhist Monk and Christian Scientist
Posted by: Shirley Paulson in General on March 27th, 2010
Episode #29 of SpiritualityandChristianity.com is a dialogue with Thai Buddhist Monk, Venerable Direxis and Christian Scientist, Shirley Paulson.

Venerable Direxis and Shirley Paulson
It was easy to find people to talk to at the Parliament of the World’s Religions, and it was easy to find people who have lived religious lives quite different from my own. What rich conversations, everywhere I turned! Direxis and I found easy similarities in our faith practices too, between my Christian Science faith and his Buddhism, even though our languages and cultures are worlds apart from each other. We both take seriously the importance of the movement of our thought. As Venerable Direxis puts it, our thoughts always need to move to a centered place, a place of peace, where healing happens. We surprised each other when we discovered how we both commit our lives to healing others.
Direxis’ life of devotion started earlier than mine. When he was sixteen, Direxis became a novice and by the time he was 20, he became a monk. I always loved God and wanted to be of service to others, but I wasn’t ready to devote my whole life this way until after I had a family. He now spends his life practicing meditation for the Buddha, the God, and I spend my life praying for the purpose of healing. And of course, we’re both interested in listening and learning from others, since we met at the Parliament of the World’s Religions.
When we tried to learn from each other the basis of our prayer/meditation and healing, we found such similar concepts with slightly different words. For example, we agreed we need to admit an original mind/Mind, and we both think it’s necessary to move our human thoughts away from the world of emotionalism/self-originated thought. We agree it requires meditation/prayer in order to move from the world of sensuality in order to find the peace and health of the universal love/divine Love.
Join us for a little conversation from people on the opposite sides of the world. I’m happy to discover “it’s a small world,” indeed.
Check out some of these related websites:
Christian Science practitioners
Photos from the Parliament of the World’s Religions
Please leave a comment. Let us know if you’ve had some similar conversations or discoveries.
New Thought and its relationship with Christian Science
Posted by: Shirley Paulson in General on January 30th, 2010
Episode #27 of Spirituality and Christianity.com is a discussion about the relationship between Christian Science and New Thought.
Across the aisle from each other in the Exhibition Hall at the Parliament of the World’s Religion in Melbourne, were the booths (or, “stands”) of Christian Science and Association of Global New Thought. Christians Scientists think of their distinction from New Thought, whereas New Thought representatives welcome their origins in
Christian Science.
Although we were all busy running around listening to talks on Buddhism, Islam, peace, pluralism, and a mind-boggling array of topics, we also thought it was important to take time to listen to each other! Indeed, Peggy Price surprised me with the similarities I wasn’t familiar with. The description of her healing practice sounded quite familiar to aspects of my own. Her motives – to love, to heal, to care for humanity – resonate with me. Also her commitment to the goodness of God and God’s whole creation is very close to my heart.
Peggy was easy to talk with, and following our initial conversation, I began to wonder if we could plunge a bit deeper. I went back to the booth and found other people willing to engage in conversation too. We dug into questions about the meaning of spiritualism and medicine. Also the role of Christ Jesus in our faith journeys. We discovered the place where we agreed to our disagreement, but this clarification did not diminish our mutual appreciation for each other’s commonalities.
Christian Science was a participant in the first Parliament, which took place in Chicago in 1893. New Thought wasn’t recognized as a religion at the Parliament in Barcelona five years ago, but the Alliance has grown, highlighting especially their love for youth and for interfaith activities at this year’s Parliament. It was good for us to become better acquainted.
The following websites are rich resources for both New Thought and Christian Science:
- New Thought sacred texts
- New Thought Movement Home Page
- International New Thought Alliance Declaration of Principles (includes all New Thought denominations as well as the agreement for adherents, as amended January, 2000)
- Official Christian Science website with discussion forums
- Daily Lift (two-minute inspirationals)
- TMC Youth (Christian Science activity and discussion for youth and young adults)
What does “spirituality” mean?
Posted by: Shirley Paulson in General on December 9th, 2009
I heard the word “spirituality” from so many people at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in so many different contexts, I began to wonder if anybody knows what we all mean by that word. I asked random people how they understand the word.
From a Catholic: “the essence of what my life is about; an expression of my relationship with God”
From a yoga practicing Christian from Latvia: “to know who I am; to see the same in another human being”
From Science of Spirituality: “refers to the Soul and God, which is the only true and permanent part of our life in this world of mind, matter and illusion” Read the rest of this entry »
Religion and the media
Posted by: Shirley Paulson in General on December 7th, 2009
I’ve been following the program cluster called “Media and Religion” at the Parliament of the World’s Religions these past couple of days. Many of the presenters are Muslim, and their concern with the media is obvious. They share many of the lessons they have learned, and these ideas are pertinent to all faiths – particularly to those who battle negative public images. Most, but not all of the following words of advice come from the Muslim community:
- Don’t fight the system; work with reporters, and let them see the value of your message.
- Social media gives more voices to more people, so it is important to let the entire faith community become well informed in the internal issues.
- Take care with what is said in social media, because it is very transparent. Writers cannot hide identities very well, and what is said is permanently locked into cyberspace.
- It is important to read and make space for negative feedback. These are often the best opportunities to clarify the message. Allowing negative comments give the audience trust in authenticity.
- Technology in dialogue is important, because its influence is growing exponentially. But it’s important to remember that even tech-savvy people don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. It’s integrity and authenticity that win the day.
- Using the media to convert others is mostly over. What’s important is communicating the story, the meaning of faith.
