Ignorance is bliss! Especially when it comes to religion. Could Americans be so religiously illiterate that this ignorance could pose a danger to America’s civic life?

• Religious Literacy Stephen Prothero Ebook Readers Pdf

If Boston University Religious Studies Professor Stephen Prothero is correct, then we’re not only a nation of religious illiterates, that illiteracy could be our undoing as a nation. Such a message is difficult to keep under a bushel, and so Prothero has been featured in a Time Magazine cover story and appeared on Jon Stewart’s Daily Show. One would think that a book of such a nature would have a religious agenda, but Prothero insists his interests are not religious, but are instead secular and civic. Although he seems at times to pine for an earlier era, one seemingly dominated by Puritans who valued an informed faith, there is more here than simply nostalgia. He is concerned that what we don’t know could hurt us, especially as we debate important civic issues and bring into the discussion our religious views it’s important to have our facts straight.

So, we affirm that God blesses America, that we are one nation under God, and it is “in God we trust.” Yet, we seem unable to define this God who has a special relationship with us. And so we affirm that great scriptural truth – as penned by Benjamin Franklin – that “God helps those who help themselves.” We have juries guided by the biblical injunction of “an eye for eye” even though Jesus, the one whom a majority of Americans hail as Lord, advises otherwise. Then of course, there are the politicians who call for the posting of the Ten Commandments, but can’t name them. What we don’t know, can be dangerous.

Religious Literacy Stephen Prothero Ebook Readers Pdf

Indeed, he traces our current problems to the Second Great Awakening, which put experience above knowledge, emotion above creed, and cooperation above doctrinal distinctions. This was compounded by the Bible Wars that emerged as a largely immigrant Roman Catholic population began to challenge the dominant Protestant culture that controlled the emergent public education system. Horace Mann, the great education reformer, was a Unitarian and he saw religion largely in moral terms.

Piety should be encouraged and a lowest common denominator faith should be shared. To get there, Mann and others insisted on the use of the King James Version. Roman Catholics wanted to use their own translation and protested the Protestant demeanor of public education. They sought public support for their own school system, and when that was denied, they argued that if only the Protestant Bible could be used and their system couldn’t receive support, then perhaps no Bible was best.

Prothero notes that the 19th century saw a convergence – the schools abandoned the teaching of religion and the churches by and large stopped teaching the basics of the faith as well. The book is laid out in three parts. Part One lays out the problem – we’re a nation of illiterates and yet religion matters.

Part Two is quite biblical, in a sense. It begins with “Eden (What We Once Knew),” which is a brief history of America’s early education efforts that were rooted in learning the biblical story (Noah Webster’s Speller and McGuffey’s Readers being examples). Then he moves to the “Fall (How We Forgot)” wherein he explores the ironic effect of the demise of Puritanism, the effect of the Second Great Awakening, which deemphasized doctrinal differences, the impact of intolerance toward Roman Catholics, and finally the embrace of morality rather than religious knowledge. What might be most controversial is Part Three, “The Proposal.” Now he admits that church and family have important roles to play in reclaiming our religious literacy.

However, because this is a civic issue we can’t leave it to church and family. Thus, his proposal is to have religion as an objective academic discipline taught in public schools. This is where things get tricky. There are Constitutional issues, but as he demonstrates the Supreme Court has ruled that the academic study of religion is permissible. There is a text book problem – most text books avoid religion like the plague.

And of course there’s the teacher problem – most teachers are either untrained in religion or rightfully nervous about talking religion. This isn’t a perfect book. I have qualms with his seeming preference for Calvinism over Arminianism. I’m also unsure about his understanding of ecumenism, which he doesn’t seem to appreciate in the same way I do. Still, I am of the opinion that he’s on to something important here.

Whether or not we can get schools to teach about religion we must find ways to be educated about religion. We must realize that religion without content and substance can be misused, and indeed, is being misused. The current debates over creationism and Intelligent Design are symptomatic of this problem.

Orthodox, institutional religions are quite different, but their mystics have much in common. A quote from the chapter 'Mystic Viewpoints' in my e-book at on comparative mysticism:Ritual and Symbols.

The inner meanings of the scriptures, the spiritual teachings of the prophets and those personal searchings which can lead to divine union were often given lesser importance than outward rituals, symbolism and ceremony in many institutional religions. Observances, reading scriptures, prescribed acts, and following orthodox beliefs cannot replace your personal dedication, contemplation, activities, and direct experience. Preaching is too seldom teaching. For true mystics, every day is a holy day. Divine revelation is here and now, not limited to their sacred scriptures.Conflicts in Conventional Religion.

'What’s in a Word?' Outlined some primary differences between religions and within each faith. The many divisions in large religions disagreed, sometimes bitterly. The succession of authority, interpretations of scriptures, doctrines, organization, terminology, and other disputes have often caused resentment. The customs, worship, practices, and behavior within the mainstream of religions frequently conflicted. Many leaders of any religion had only united when confronted by someone outside their faith, or by agnostics or atheists.

Few mystics have believed divine oneness is exclusive to their religion or is restricted to any people.Note: This is just a consensus to indicate some differences between the approaches of mystics and that of their institutional religion. These statements do not represent all schools of mysticism or every division of faith. Whether mystical experiences vary in their cultural context, or are similar for all true mystics, is less important than that they transform each one’s sense of being to a transpersonal outlook on all life. In a moment we’ll gather at the Table of the Lord. We’ll break bread and share the cup together.

We’ll do this as two congregations from two different denominations. There was a time when this kind of gathering would be impossible. You might gather to sing hymns or hear a preacher, but the Table was different. It was open only to the insiders.

There are still traditions that “fence the Table,” but fortunately that is not true here. We can gather at the Table to remember the meal Jesus established to unite his people in love.This meal of remembrance is rooted in other biblical meals, including Passover and the “feeding of the 5000.” We might want to add other meals including the meal Abraham and Sarah shared with the three strangers at the Oaks of Mamre.

These strangers were received with hospitality, and in return they delivered a promise that the covenant God wished to establish with Abraham would include Sarah, who was to bear a child through whom the nations. By John Pahl. Clifton, NJ: Blue Dome Press, 2019. Xix + 419 pages.Several years ago I became acquainted with a Turkish-originated movement that sponsored interfaith dialogue. The members of the group, most of whom are Turkish are also Muslims. I later discovered that this group was part of a movement known as Hizmet, which is Turkish for service. I’ve come to know and respect that members of this movement, at least those whom I’ve encountered.

They are faithful Muslims who embrace service to others and interfaith dialog and partnerships. Since these are core values for me as a person, it seemed appropriate to build on the relationships that were developing. Since this is a book that tells the story of the founder of Hizmet, it should not come as a surprise that what I share here will be sympathetic to the movement and its founder.This book, which was provided to me as a gift from one of the local Hizmet leaders, tells the life-story of the Turkish. Note: If you watch the sermon below, you will notice that I acknowledge upfront the shootings in El Paso and Dayton. While I did not change the sermon, I made clear that we must speak to this violence. The sermon itself as written does, in fact, speak to these realities.Just a few days back some of us crossed the mighty Mississippi on our way to and from the General Assembly in Des Moines. As far as I know, nobody tried to wade across the river.

It’s too deep and too wide to wade across. We either drove across bridges or took a plane to Iowa, because unlike Moses or Joshua or Elijah, none of us appears to have the power to divide the waters.Whether it’s a river, a lake, or a sea, water plays an important role in the biblical story. The very first sentences of Genesis declare: “when God began to create heaven and earth—the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and wind from God sweeping over the water—God said ‘Let there be light.” (Ge.

As a former newspaper reporter, she was honored by her peers with eleven journalism awards, including first place news writing for The Texas Press Association.She was a humor columnist for The 1960 Sun in Houston. However, writing novels is where her heart is.

She left her job as a journalist in 2008 to write novels fulltime.' Writing about the Amish lifestyle within fictional love stories has been a wonderful experience,' Beth says. 'The Amish and Mennonite contacts I have established in Lancaster County help me to keep the books authentic. They love, hurt, have daily challenges and struggles, and strive to be the best they can be.It has been a privilege to learn about their ways.'