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William Thompson-Uberuaga
In this lecture, Professor Thompson-Uberuaga explains sources of authority in the Christian tradition, through the various concepts of reason and faith. Moreover he highlights the faith-reason interplay in its changing perspectives throughout history and within the individual himself any given point. Therefore, authority takes on new meanings, from the institutionalized Catholic Church to the stress on the 'common good' in the Protestant Reformation. Despite the tensi... More>>
Marcia Hermansen
In her lecture, Marcia Hermansen discusses the various sources of authority in Islam. While Islam is diverse in regional, sectarian, interpretative, and historical traditions, the main source of authority in Islam is Allah, whose message is known through His revelation, or the Koran. The Koran is therefore a top authority in Islam. The Koran also suggests using Muhammad and his life as an authoritative example. It also speaks of, The Seal of the Prophets, which marks Muhammad as the final prophe... More>>
Alon Goshen-Gottstein
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Father Benedict, Sheikh Abdelsalam Mennasrah and Rabbi David Seidenberg
This two part series discusses the relationship between mysticism and religious leadership. The three monotheistic faiths are each represented by their respective leaders. Is mysticism a good quality for religious leadership and what are the tensions between the mystical dimension and other dimensions of authority in religion? Father Benedict relates how in Christianity, G-d reveals himself, but does it veiled. Christ's hidden truth or reality is experienced through mystical practices. This ex... More>>
Continuation of "The Mystic Part 1" More>>
Continuation of "The Mystic Part 1"
In the second of a series of related lectures, Marcia Hermansen continues her discussion on the authority in Islam. She focuses on reformist movements in Islam and also discusses the topic of charismatic authority. Is it still possible to change or add to Islamic law? What is the scope of reform, or ijtihad available in Islam today? Some Sunni scholars believe that the conversation on reform continues. There are two schools of fairly modern reformers who call for a new ijtihad. The first are the... More>>
This lecture discusses spiritual dimensions of Christianity. It surveys the history of Christianity including the topics of priesthood, church, and civil society while demarcating the differences between the Eastern and Western parts of the Christian Empire. In the West, the Church and clergy were very involved in the political, cultural, and societal sphere of public life. The Church had control over the state and smothered civil society, whereas in the East, the state smothered the Church and ... More>>
Daniel H. Gordis
In this lecture, Rabbi Daniel Gordis from the Mandel Foundation discusses the subject of Jewish leadership. His work focuses on leadership training, specifically at the level of Jewish executive educators. The core of leadership is vision. Great leaders have great ideas and know how to translate their ideas into the larger community. Gordis shares with the audience a few of his secrets of success in transforming a vision into reality. A Jewish leader at the executive level must have a vision o... More>>
In this lecture, Marcia Hermansen speaks of the impact modernity has had on religious identity and authority. Modernity is often seen as a challenge to spirituality. It brings up questions and challenges to preconceived religious traditions. For example, how do we address gender inequalities and shifts in authoritative knowledge? Where does truth come from? How and where do we find it? Is it in science or in religious tradition? Must modernity pose a challenge, however, or can certain aspects en... More>>
This lecture discusses the challenges computers pose on society from a Christian perspective. Nearly everything we do in modern times is connected to the computer. This affects our time and our space, and it has its psychological and spiritual reverberations on us. Substantive thinking is not what is important anymore, but fast processing is. This poses a question of human skills and traditions that will be lost. For example, letters take time, care, thought and effort whereas emails do not. Peo... More>>
Rafi Jospe
Jospe discusses the notion of religious and civil authority, as analyzed by medieval thinkers such as Maimonides, Al-Farabi and more. Maimonides' dichotomy of two aspects of religious life: activism and contemplation, is at the center of this lecture. By presenting various texts and their historical contexts, Jospe presents the ongoing debate of these two aspects from the Greek philosophers to medieval philosophers. He concludes by synthesizing the two points of view according ... More>>
Maria Hermansen
In this session, Professor Hermansen discusses a new model developed for American society, which maps out the religious and civic inclinations from a sociologic perspective. After presenting the grid in its original intent, she embarks on plugging in Muslim groups throughout history using this model. Mentioning the Ismaeli sect of the Shiite, mainstream Sunnis, Sufis, modern-day political-Islamic movements (Muslim Brotherhood), progressives and more, Professor Hermansen finds a fasci... More>>
Thompson-Uberuaga illustrates Christianity's development in the world, and more recently, in Europe. In early societies, a "cosmocentric reality" reigned, where the physical world was intrinsically tied into the spiritual world. With monotheism's appearance, a clearer sense of divinity is born; God is not a part of the world but the creator. He moves on to outline the Church's relationship to the sta... More>>
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