“Why am I here? Answers from Judaism,
Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism”
“Being religious means asking passionately the question of the meaning of our existence and being willing to receive answers, even if the answers hurt.” — Paul Tillich
Join us for a candid, respectful dialogue between teachers from Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Zen Buddhism as we explore our commonalities and differences in regards to some of the important questions of human existence.
The panelists: Rabbi Amy Cohen of Temple Beth Shalom, Rev. Dr. Tom Goodman of Hillcrest Baptist Church, Shaykh Mohamed-Umer Esmail of the Nueces Mosque, and Rev. Dr. David Zuniga who is a Zen priest in the Taego lineage of Korean Zen, writer, and a Postdoctoral Fellow in Clinical Psychology.
The panel moderators: Dr. James Kraft of Huston-Tillotson University and noted religion journalist Ms. Eileen Flynn.
* Please see below for bios and other weblinks for the panelists and moderators.
Date & Time: Thursday, February 19, 2015, 7:00 — 9:00 PM
Location: King-Seabrook Chapel of Huston-Tillotson University.
Map & Directions: The main entrance for Huston–Tillotson University is located at 900 Chicon Street, Austin, Texas, 78702.
For this event, it’s likely easiest to travel approximately one mile East of I-35 on 7th street, turn left on Chalmers Street, and park in the gravel parking lot in the middle of the first block. Then walk across Chalmers to the West Gate for the campus, walk right in front of the gymnasium and to the top of the hill. The King-Seabrook Chapel is at the top of the hill.
A map, which includes locations of parking lots and the King-Seabrook Chapel is here.
Format: Each of the four panelists will speak briefly from the perspective of their tradition on four questions:
* To RSVP or ask questions visit our Facebook event page and go here for a flier (PDF) to share.
Bios of the Panelists:
Rabbi Amy Cohen joined Temple Beth Shalom as the Rabbi Educator in July, 2012, following her ordination at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. Raised in Sudbury, Massachusetts, Cohen received a bachelor’s degree in social work with a double major in Jewish history and civilization and a master’s of social work at New York University. She also earned a master’s of religious education and master’s in Hebrew letters at HUC-JIR. Previously, Cohen worked as a Youth Educator at Temple Beth Shalom in Needham, Mass. During her time at HUC-JIR, Cohen worked at Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn as a Family Educator, she spent a year at NYU Hillel teaching an adult B'nai Mitzvah class and advising the Reform students at the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life. Rabbi Cohen served Temple Israel of the City of New York in the summer of 2010 as a Rabbinic fellow and she taught religious and Hebrew school at many congregations in the greater New York area. Rabbi Cohen has always has a passion for Jewish Education as a teen in NFTY-NE, an active student leader at NYU Hillel and now as a Rabbi/Educator at Temple Beth Shalom. She enjoys working with community members of all ages and embracing innovative trends in the field of Jewish education that aim to make Judaism accessible and engaging to families, young adults, baby boomers and children. Rabbi Cohen, her husband Ian, an attorney at Reed & Scardino and their dog Tahina quickly fell in love with Austin when they arrived, but they will always remain devoted Red Sox fans.
Pastor Tom Goodman is a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, and he holds a doctorate from New Orleans Seminary. He has served as pastor in Louisiana, north Texas, and overseas in Grand Cayman before becoming the pastor of Hillcrest Church in Austin. Diane and Tom have been married since their days at Baylor University, and they have two sons, Michael and Stephen. Tom enjoys scuba diving, watching the latest on Netflix with Diane, and chasing mis-hit golf balls. He blogs at The Anchor Course.
Shaykh Mohamed-Umer Esmail of the Nueces Mosque is a Canadian born, traditionally trained scholar who started his quest to acquire Islamic knowledge at a young age and continued formal studies of the Sciences of Shari`ah in different parts of the world for thirteen years. He has Ijazah in Qira’at, Hadith and Fiqh from renowned scholars.
Dr. David Zuniga earned his Ph.D. in clinical psychology and is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in private practice in Austin, Texas. Previously, he earned a masters degree in comparative religion from Harvard Divinity School, and also a master’s degree in English literature. He was ordained as a Zen (Son) Buddhist Priest at Sonamsa Temple (built in 529 C.E.) of Chogye Mountain in the South Cholla province in Sunchun, South Korea, and in the process became the first westerner ordained in the Taego lineage of Korean Zen, and was also one of the first Buddhists to become a Board Certified Chaplain by the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC). Prior to his current psychology practice, he worked for over a decade in pediatric and adult end-of-life care (palliative care, end-stage oncology, and hospice). David is also a writer, publishing both academic articles and works for the wider public. Currently he’s finishing a book on Zen, mindfulness and end-of-life care for Wisdom Publications. In addition to spending time with his family, he enjoys meditating, long distance running, and playing board games. A frequent public speaker, you can learn more about his therapy practice, background, and community events.
Bios of the Moderators:
Dr. James Kraft has been an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Huston-Tillotson University for over ten years. Dr. Kraft’s fields of expertise are epistemology (which refers to the study of knowledge), religious epistemology, and philosophy of religion. Scholars in the philosophy of religion look at religion from a philosophical perspective. The research Dr. Kraft is now doing revolves around religious diversity and religious disagreement. His writing is concerned with how people support their beliefs when they are thinking about religious alternatives, especially when the alternatives are presented by very sophisticated individuals. In publications he argues for the thesis that most people have a very difficult time adequately supporting their beliefs when taking seriously sophisticated religious alternatives, and here is why: The serious consideration of religious alternatives gets people to think about what the support is that they have for their own beliefs. And when people engage in self-reflection about their religious beliefs they often find they don’t have as much support for their beliefs as they thought. Also, often the justification one has for the belief doesn’t work in situations one would expect it to work in, and so the process for forming the belief isn’t reliable. It isn’t necessarily that people give up their beliefs when confronted with sophisticated presentations of the alternatives; just that they often experience a reduction in confidence in the justification of their beliefs. Dr. Kraft completed his Ph.D. at Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. He recently wrote The Epistemology of Religious Disagreement, and co-edited a second book entitled Religious Tolerance Through Humility. To read his blog and learn more about his current research you can visit his website.
Professor Eileen Flynn is a freelance writer and editor specializing in religion. She teaches the course Journalism and Religion at the University of Texas at Austin, and regularly lectures on the importance of religious literacy to faith-based and secular organizations in Texas. She covered the religion beat at the Austin American-Statesman for many years and is a member of the Religion Newswriters Association. You can read her blog The Grand Scheme and some of her published columns here.
Join us for a candid, respectful dialogue between teachers from Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Zen Buddhism as we explore our commonalities and differences in regards to some of the important questions of human existence.
The panelists: Rabbi Amy Cohen of Temple Beth Shalom, Rev. Dr. Tom Goodman of Hillcrest Baptist Church, Shaykh Mohamed-Umer Esmail of the Nueces Mosque, and Rev. Dr. David Zuniga who is a Zen priest in the Taego lineage of Korean Zen, writer, and a Postdoctoral Fellow in Clinical Psychology.
The panel moderators: Dr. James Kraft of Huston-Tillotson University and noted religion journalist Ms. Eileen Flynn.
* Please see below for bios and other weblinks for the panelists and moderators.
Date & Time: Thursday, February 19, 2015, 7:00 — 9:00 PM
Location: King-Seabrook Chapel of Huston-Tillotson University.
Map & Directions: The main entrance for Huston–Tillotson University is located at 900 Chicon Street, Austin, Texas, 78702.
For this event, it’s likely easiest to travel approximately one mile East of I-35 on 7th street, turn left on Chalmers Street, and park in the gravel parking lot in the middle of the first block. Then walk across Chalmers to the West Gate for the campus, walk right in front of the gymnasium and to the top of the hill. The King-Seabrook Chapel is at the top of the hill.
A map, which includes locations of parking lots and the King-Seabrook Chapel is here.
Format: Each of the four panelists will speak briefly from the perspective of their tradition on four questions:
- Why am I here? (What is the purpose of our lives?)
- Where am I going (What is the goal/s of life? Heaven? Nirvana? etc.)
- What helps me get there? (Practices, beliefs etc.)
- What are obstacles to this path?
* To RSVP or ask questions visit our Facebook event page and go here for a flier (PDF) to share.
Bios of the Panelists:
Rabbi Amy Cohen joined Temple Beth Shalom as the Rabbi Educator in July, 2012, following her ordination at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. Raised in Sudbury, Massachusetts, Cohen received a bachelor’s degree in social work with a double major in Jewish history and civilization and a master’s of social work at New York University. She also earned a master’s of religious education and master’s in Hebrew letters at HUC-JIR. Previously, Cohen worked as a Youth Educator at Temple Beth Shalom in Needham, Mass. During her time at HUC-JIR, Cohen worked at Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn as a Family Educator, she spent a year at NYU Hillel teaching an adult B'nai Mitzvah class and advising the Reform students at the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life. Rabbi Cohen served Temple Israel of the City of New York in the summer of 2010 as a Rabbinic fellow and she taught religious and Hebrew school at many congregations in the greater New York area. Rabbi Cohen has always has a passion for Jewish Education as a teen in NFTY-NE, an active student leader at NYU Hillel and now as a Rabbi/Educator at Temple Beth Shalom. She enjoys working with community members of all ages and embracing innovative trends in the field of Jewish education that aim to make Judaism accessible and engaging to families, young adults, baby boomers and children. Rabbi Cohen, her husband Ian, an attorney at Reed & Scardino and their dog Tahina quickly fell in love with Austin when they arrived, but they will always remain devoted Red Sox fans.
Pastor Tom Goodman is a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, and he holds a doctorate from New Orleans Seminary. He has served as pastor in Louisiana, north Texas, and overseas in Grand Cayman before becoming the pastor of Hillcrest Church in Austin. Diane and Tom have been married since their days at Baylor University, and they have two sons, Michael and Stephen. Tom enjoys scuba diving, watching the latest on Netflix with Diane, and chasing mis-hit golf balls. He blogs at The Anchor Course.
Shaykh Mohamed-Umer Esmail of the Nueces Mosque is a Canadian born, traditionally trained scholar who started his quest to acquire Islamic knowledge at a young age and continued formal studies of the Sciences of Shari`ah in different parts of the world for thirteen years. He has Ijazah in Qira’at, Hadith and Fiqh from renowned scholars.
Dr. David Zuniga earned his Ph.D. in clinical psychology and is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in private practice in Austin, Texas. Previously, he earned a masters degree in comparative religion from Harvard Divinity School, and also a master’s degree in English literature. He was ordained as a Zen (Son) Buddhist Priest at Sonamsa Temple (built in 529 C.E.) of Chogye Mountain in the South Cholla province in Sunchun, South Korea, and in the process became the first westerner ordained in the Taego lineage of Korean Zen, and was also one of the first Buddhists to become a Board Certified Chaplain by the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC). Prior to his current psychology practice, he worked for over a decade in pediatric and adult end-of-life care (palliative care, end-stage oncology, and hospice). David is also a writer, publishing both academic articles and works for the wider public. Currently he’s finishing a book on Zen, mindfulness and end-of-life care for Wisdom Publications. In addition to spending time with his family, he enjoys meditating, long distance running, and playing board games. A frequent public speaker, you can learn more about his therapy practice, background, and community events.
Bios of the Moderators:
Dr. James Kraft has been an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Huston-Tillotson University for over ten years. Dr. Kraft’s fields of expertise are epistemology (which refers to the study of knowledge), religious epistemology, and philosophy of religion. Scholars in the philosophy of religion look at religion from a philosophical perspective. The research Dr. Kraft is now doing revolves around religious diversity and religious disagreement. His writing is concerned with how people support their beliefs when they are thinking about religious alternatives, especially when the alternatives are presented by very sophisticated individuals. In publications he argues for the thesis that most people have a very difficult time adequately supporting their beliefs when taking seriously sophisticated religious alternatives, and here is why: The serious consideration of religious alternatives gets people to think about what the support is that they have for their own beliefs. And when people engage in self-reflection about their religious beliefs they often find they don’t have as much support for their beliefs as they thought. Also, often the justification one has for the belief doesn’t work in situations one would expect it to work in, and so the process for forming the belief isn’t reliable. It isn’t necessarily that people give up their beliefs when confronted with sophisticated presentations of the alternatives; just that they often experience a reduction in confidence in the justification of their beliefs. Dr. Kraft completed his Ph.D. at Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. He recently wrote The Epistemology of Religious Disagreement, and co-edited a second book entitled Religious Tolerance Through Humility. To read his blog and learn more about his current research you can visit his website.
Professor Eileen Flynn is a freelance writer and editor specializing in religion. She teaches the course Journalism and Religion at the University of Texas at Austin, and regularly lectures on the importance of religious literacy to faith-based and secular organizations in Texas. She covered the religion beat at the Austin American-Statesman for many years and is a member of the Religion Newswriters Association. You can read her blog The Grand Scheme and some of her published columns here.