We're All Interconnected: Building Bridges in Divisive Times
"Every human being has a great, yet often unknown, gift to care, to be compassionate, to become present to the other, to listen, to hear and to receive. If that gift would be set free and made available, miracles could take place." — Henri Nouwen
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 4, 2017, 6:30 PM — 8:30PM CST
Location: The first floor of Agard-Lovinggood Auditorium of Huston-Tillotson University.
Join us for a candid, respectful dialogue between teachers from Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Zen Buddhism as we explore our commonalities in regards to some of the important questions of spirituality and society.
Topics the panelists and audience will explore:
1. How do you dialogue with another on a matter that you personally feel strongly that the other is simply wrong about (e.g. homophobia, the value of religious pluralism)?
2. How do you dialogue with another on a matter that is widely considered wrong by the vast majority (e.g. racism, killing civilians in the name of religion)?
3. Can religion be both a hindrance and a help to a progressive society? How can we ensure that we're helping rather than hurting? Overall, does religion help improve society or not?
4. How can people of different religious beliefs help each other while still maintaining their own spiritual identity and authenticity?
5. Politics in the United States is often divided into camps of progressive vs. conservative; religion is also often seen in this way. How is your tradition generally defined (progressive vs. conservative) and what, if any, is the value of the alternative perspective (i.e. if you are progressive what is the value of conservative ideology or vice versa)?
6. What have you personally learned from another tradition?
7. What are strengths of your tradition? What are ways your tradition needs to grow or change?
The panelists: Rabbi Kerry Baker, Rev. Donald Brewington of Huston-Tillotson University, 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 and a clinical psychologist.
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.
Directions for parking: 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 on the west side of campus on Chalmers street or in the school parking lot just off Chamers which is monitored by campus security.
Directions from the parking lot to the west side of campus: Find the campus west entrance security gate, once you arrive at the security gate on the west side of campus, look to the left and you will see the auditorium. Our event is on the first floor of the auditorium. A map, which includes locations of parking lots and the Agard-Lovinggood Auditorium is here.
Bios of the Panelists:
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 4, 2017, 6:30 PM — 8:30PM CST
Location: The first floor of Agard-Lovinggood Auditorium of Huston-Tillotson University.
Join us for a candid, respectful dialogue between teachers from Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Zen Buddhism as we explore our commonalities in regards to some of the important questions of spirituality and society.
Topics the panelists and audience will explore:
1. How do you dialogue with another on a matter that you personally feel strongly that the other is simply wrong about (e.g. homophobia, the value of religious pluralism)?
2. How do you dialogue with another on a matter that is widely considered wrong by the vast majority (e.g. racism, killing civilians in the name of religion)?
3. Can religion be both a hindrance and a help to a progressive society? How can we ensure that we're helping rather than hurting? Overall, does religion help improve society or not?
4. How can people of different religious beliefs help each other while still maintaining their own spiritual identity and authenticity?
5. Politics in the United States is often divided into camps of progressive vs. conservative; religion is also often seen in this way. How is your tradition generally defined (progressive vs. conservative) and what, if any, is the value of the alternative perspective (i.e. if you are progressive what is the value of conservative ideology or vice versa)?
6. What have you personally learned from another tradition?
7. What are strengths of your tradition? What are ways your tradition needs to grow or change?
The panelists: Rabbi Kerry Baker, Rev. Donald Brewington of Huston-Tillotson University, 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 and a clinical psychologist.
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.
Directions for parking: 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 on the west side of campus on Chalmers street or in the school parking lot just off Chamers which is monitored by campus security.
Directions from the parking lot to the west side of campus: Find the campus west entrance security gate, once you arrive at the security gate on the west side of campus, look to the left and you will see the auditorium. Our event is on the first floor of the auditorium. A map, which includes locations of parking lots and the Agard-Lovinggood Auditorium is here.
Bios of the Panelists:
Dr. David Zuniga earned his Ph.D. in clinical psychology and is in private practice in Austin. Previously, he was a faculty member in the Integrative Medicine Department of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He also earned a masters degree from Harvard Divinity School and a master’s degree in English literature. He was ordained as a Zen (Son) Buddhist Priest at Sonamsa Temple (built in 529 C.E.) in South Korea, becoming the first westerner ordained in the Taego lineage of Korean Zen, and was one of the first Buddhists to become a Board Certified Chaplain by the Association of Professional Chaplains. Prior to being a psychologist, he worked for over a decade in pediatric and adult end-of-life care.
Rabbi Kerry Baker seeks to help all spiritual seekers access and learn from Judaism as a global wisdom tradition. He has served as a rabbi in numerous communities including at Congregation Beth Shalom and Temple Chai, and he was the founding rabbi at Congregation Kol Halev. Previously he served as the Executive Director at the Texas Hillel Foundation and studied at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion-New York.
Rev. Donald Brewington has served as University Chaplain at Huston-Tillotson University for twenty five years; he is a native of San Antonio, Texas. Don received his Bachelors of Arts Degree from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, and his Masters of Divinity from The Interdenominational Theological Center, Morehouse School of Religion in Atlanta, Georgia. Rev. Brewington also serves as the Church Relations Officer and is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Religious Studies. He also served a two year term as the Interim Dean of Student Affairs. Don is a member and past President of The National Association of College and University Chaplains, along with several other professional organizations.
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. He also has over fifteen years of experience in youth and marital spiritual counseling.
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.
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.