Posts Tagged ‘religion’
S+C | Politics and Religion
Posted by: Shirley Paulson in Podcast on July 22nd, 2009
Episode #26 is a conversation with Will Buchanan on the relationship between politics and spiritual ideas.
Sometimes the effort to discuss politics and religious convictions in the same conversation can be hazardous. All the more reason to find a basis for successful conversations.
Will is a student at Principia College, where he’s studying political science. He’s also deeply committed to his spiritual growth. Our discussion raises questions and uncovers possibilities for those who deeply care about the relevance of spiritual living in a political context.
Whether you lean left or right, it’s encouraging to find common ground in the belief that God’s goodness is available to everyone at all times. It gives hope for peace, and it encourages grace in the midst of our differences.
It might be helpful to clarify one point in the podcast conversation. Near the end of the podcast, Will is discussing “three degrees” of human experience, which come from his study of Mary Baker Eddy’s book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (115). He is distinguishing between the second and third degrees, in which the second is a transitional state of thought to the third level, which includes spiritual understanding and power. Will describes the meaning of that third state of human thought without clearly identifying it; but his point is that it’s helpful for us as humans to be clear about the type of thinking we bring to our experiences. We are able to achieve wisdom, spiritual understanding, and spiritual power (the “third degree”) as we grow spiritually; and on that basis we are not victims of politics, but contributors to society’s well-being.
Please do join us in this conversation. We’re interested in they way you make connections between your spiritual searching and your political pragmatism. Share your comments at the end of the show notes on the website, SpiritualityandChristianity.com.
Some relevant links:
S+C | Religion, technology, and emerging media
Posted by: Shirley Paulson in Podcast on May 31st, 2009
Episode #23 is another conversation with Meg Ballias, a student at Butler University and Shirley Paulson, a Christian Scientist.
Meg is immersed in the issues of emerging media, and we decided to explore together the impact this new technology might have on religion, and vice versa. Meg is a Journalism student who was selected as one of the scholarship students attending the Religion Communicators Council (RCC) convention in Boston this year. She was featured on episode #21 also.
Globalization can offer exciting new opportunities, but the idea of a single currency for the world, for example, can also be scary if it leads to the end of society as we know it. Meg wonders aloud whether journalism technology is contributing to it or offering sufficient warnings against it. Some of our other questions have to do with the relationship between soul and digital machinery. Does God give humanity dominion, or are we victims of our own creations? Does moral strength play a role in the development of technology?
We feel like kids peering into an unopened treasure box, ready to discover things no one ever told us about before. We’d love to hear your insights and questions too. This is a topic that needs the best of everyone’s thinking. Please join in! Post your comments on the Spirituality and Christianity.com website. Subscribe to the podcass at the link on the right side of the website page: “Sunbscribe to S+C Podcast.” Thanks!
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S+C | Technology’s influence on religion and vice versa
Posted by: Shirley Paulson in Podcast on April 24th, 2008
Episode 8 is a conversation about the relationship between faith and technology, between a Mormon and a Christian Scientist.
I met Greg Lemon via email; and we ultimately spoke to each other via skype, and recorded our conversation on remote recorders in California and Illinois. While it’s obvious that technology is a convenience for modern living, it can be argued that technology gets us so comfortable we have no need for religious practices. But both of us agree that technology would never be able to replace for us the deep meaning of life we find from our devotion to God. Greg is a self-confessed geek, and I’m struggling to keep up with what I need to keep producing podcasts. So I was interested in hearing
how easily Greg makes use of his technological wizardry to provide easier access to the teaching and preaching in his world of religion. But I was also curious as to whether technology can go too far and ultimately turn us into slaves or even victims of technology. Ray Kurzweil argues in his book, Spiritual Machines, that technology has advanced so far that within the relatively near future, we’ll be able to download even our spiritual elements into embedded computers in our bodies. This way, we can live as long as we continue to download our internal computers. The moral dimensions of these issues are deep and complex, but Greg and I concur that our true natures are spiritual and therefore will not be dominated by man-made creations. Let us know what you think about this conversation, here on Spirituality and Christianity.com. As usual, we think this is a very large topic that could benefit from thoughtful discourse.
Click on “comments” below to tell us what’s on your mind.
Let me introduce you to Greg’s faith life on his church website and his personal life on his own website:
Greg’s faith life
Greg’s website: Myth Show and Myth Minute Podcasts
Greg’s podcasts on his Myth Show