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 and promote tolerance, peace, and understanding of all faiths and spiritual traditions. |
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Educating Students Out of Their MisconceptionsPosted by Pamela 12/20/11
Teachers are dedicated individuals. They are willing to take our children from their earliest years, and labor diligently to transform them into model citizens - clear-thinking, well-educated, perceptive, sophisticated. They teach our children math, reading, science, history, literature and world affairs. They have the expertise in fields of which parents can barely scratch the surface. And somehow they come up with the resources and energy to take them far afield, to the aquarium, the State Capitol, the museums. What would we do without them?
A Reflection and Conversation with The Self on the Matter of Ones’ Character and Etiquette No sooner than the slaughter of innocents in Oslo, Norway was dismissed as was the accused assailant that one of the Sentinel's contributing columnists slipped right back into a litany of anti-Islamic generalizations I've read before. Aug. 6: "We need perspective on Norway's terror attack."
We've been dealing with some pretty heavy stuff lately. I thought it might be time for some laughs. 1. The fattest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.
Although ostensibly directed at a select group - in this latest case, Jews - hate speech hurts us all. Those who perpetrate it are usually anonymous, not surprisingly, as it is a crime. They hide their identity because they know they are wrong before they even begin. And, because they are cowards, they strike in the darkness and without warning, like terrorists, and like terrorists, their aim is to inspire fear and confusion.
But only in their chosen group. read more....
There seems to be some confusion about the meaning and purpose of the UIC. Not so much among the general population of UCSC to whom the words “Interfaith Council” make perfect sense, but among its own members. The unspoken question seems to be “Why should I promote other religions at the expense of my own?” Good question! And one that deserves some thought.
"The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air."
Galadriel, Lord of the Rings
Most people don't like change. It can be extremely uncomfortable. But there's very little one can do about it, except grumble. Change comes to us all, especially now, as the change from Modernism to Post-modernism is at last making itself felt in everyday life. The death knell of Modernism was sounded a hundred years ago with Albert Einstein's Relativity Theory of 1907 and Werner Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle of 1920. But it has taken all these years since for the consequences of their discoveries to trickle down to you and me.
European missionaries to Africa in the 19th century, influenced by the Enlightenment, brought with them a materialistic view of illness. For them, everything could be explained by natural causes. They knew that diseases were caused by germs, not demons or the ill-wishes of others. Yes, there were demons at work in the world, but only to steal souls from God.
The natives they encountered had a different view of the world which the missionaries declared to be mistaken. The natives believed in the reality of malevolent powers at work in the community. And, so, even though they went to church in the morning, they would visit the shamans secretly after dark.
Their hearts and souls were divided because they knew that illness was more than just an accident.
(This article was originally published on the Diversity and Inclusion webpage http://studentaffairs.ucsc.edu/diversity/ – in August, 2010)
The University Interfaith Council (UIC) is composed of the dedicated representatives from twenty different faith-based groups – Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Baha’i, Hindu, Sikh, American Indian and Christian – who work together to provide a wide range of support programs for students of many different faiths, both those students who arrive on campus as members of a faith group and those who choose to embrace a faith and spirituality as a result of their time spent in the UCSC community.
In many ways, the work of the UIC is similar to that of the Ethnic Resource Centers on campus.
Our sages state: If not now, when?
One may add: If not now, what?
One may conclude: If not now, naught!
We often think of the present as the link between the past and the future. i.e. there was a past, there will be a future, and in order to tie it all together, we have something called a now. We revere the past as vast and the future as infinite, yet the present is often perceived as a mere fleeting moment. We can spend endless hours studying history, and millions of dollars planning our destiny. But what time or consideration do we give the now?
Getting back to the original question asked in Lisa Miller's Newsweek article - How can college-aged men and women best resist peer pressure to have sex, or, at least, resist the kind of sex they don't want? As Donna Freitas says, Students "want the right to demand more from their peers when it comes to sex and relationships - more joy, more satisfaction, more commitment - and less sex."
Perhaps we could think of this choice as one between "high level" and "low level" sex. I'm not talking here about the quality level of the sex act. There are plenty of books for advice on that. I'm talking about the emotional, relational, and spiritual level of sex. It may be hard for some to imagine a "spiritual" component to pre-marital sex, but many who are sexually active on campus
are searching for precisely that. As we struggle to find a way of discussing sex at the university level, let's first distinguish among different types of "sex." Premarital sex is one issue, and probably the one most of concern to students. Cheating on a spouse is another. Pornography is a third. Homosexuality comes in here somewhere. And then there's marriage. And divorce.
It's helpful if we can agree that not all of these are equally horrible and offensive to God. In my last posting, I mentioned a book, Sex and the Soul, by Donna Freitas, which had been quoted in a recent Newsweek article. In her book, Freitas recommends that college students be given an opportunity to tell the truth about what they want out of relationships, including courtship, romance, intercourse and abstinence, without incurring the derision and wrath of their peers, mentors and campus ministers. A few months ago, one of the Newman Center students, Andrea, asked me about organizing a UIC forum on Sexuality and Spirituality. She said: "I feel this is an important topic for people of faith, especially since the Christian Church is unwilling to engage in conversation about it. In college people are exploring their sexuality, whether they consider themselves spiritual or not. I think it would be wonderful to engage in conversation that is open and not controlled by leaders who are simply shouting 'abstinence only' without a reason why. One of my modern Christian heroes who I believe effectively lives out Jesus’ message is the head of the University of California Merced, Chancellor Steve Kang.
According to the book “Everything must Change” by Brian McLaren, Jesus’ original message is full of radical socio-economic-political statements, much less concerned with our personal comfort than that we each serve God's purposes for ALL people, most of whom have much less power, wealth and opportunity than we Americans. The debate about health care in our country rightly should be of great concern to people of different Faith Communities. With over 40 million Americans without health insurance, with people facing bankruptcies because of health costs, others dying because they can't get medical assistance, people of faith need to add their voice to this important issue. It is a matter of Justice and good Stewardship of the resources God has given us. Many people use as an argument for belief the creation of he universe. This is called the "first cause" argument: if the universe had a beginning (i.e., the Big Bang,) then the cause of the Big Bang must be something that transcends the physical universe. Coupled with the apparent fine-tuning of the natural laws which make life possible and the claim that it would take a super-intelligent Being to so arrange natural law, this argument designates "God" as the transcendent cause of the universe. There are objections to this position. read more... I was an undergrad at Berkeley at the time of the Free Speech Movement (1964-65.) This Free Speech was not about shouting four-letter words from the steps of Sproul Hall, as most people think. This was about the freedom to say "I am, or was, a member of the Communist Party," and not lose your job. read more... When we first started looking for speakers for our series on "The Seven Deadly Sins," I had no idea that the one topic no one wanted to cover was Envy. Not any less than the others, anyway. But I've learned something. No one wants to admit they've been envious. No one wants to talk about it. Apparently, envy is not sexy. Read more... "Certainly not!" say a loud number of voices. "Religion is the embodiment of irrationality and a threat to liberal values. Religious people are crazy. They'd as soon bomb you as look at you. It's too much trouble! Best leave it alone." My niece, Sam, is a Post-modernist. Raised half a Catholic and half a Jew, she sees no problem in following two religions at once (she hasen't done a lot of theological study and will probably add Buddhism in there, just to round things out. Still, she likes Jesus and thinks he's cool. She's not too concerned that she will ever find Truth, Eternal Truth, or True Truth...Read more... My father-in-law is an agnostic, a wishy-washy position, in my opinion. Even atheism is better than such vague confusion. That’s a question I get asked all the time.
The speaker usually goes on to say, “What good does it do us (fill in the name of your faith group) to associate with Catholics, Jews, American Indians, Evangelicals or Buddhists?” Some even add, “The disgusting, heretical (any name here) are all of the devil anyway! Why do you bother?” Read more... |
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This Fall Quarter, the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion added a new class to their two-year Diversity and Inclusion Certificate Program for staff. This class was called "Understanding Belief and Believers" and was taught by Laurie Schlaepfer. MA. The class was well-received, well-attended, and will be offered to staff next year, as well. We hope to have this class available soon for graduate students and faculty. ............................................................................................... SOCIAL JUSTICE PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES The Everett Circle Church does food pick-ups every Monday morning (early) from the Second Harvest Food Bank in Watsonville to distribute to its clients. They could use volunteers to help with that.
Thursday evenings the Circle Church serves dinner to the homeless. They would like volunteers for that, as well, not so much to serve dinner as to show friendship to the patrons. ....................................................................................... SPIRITUALITY THEME HOUSING AVAILABLE UCSC is making on-campus residential housing available in the 2012-13 school year for undergraduate students who would like to live together around a common theme - SPIRITUALITY AND FAITH For more information contact Pamela Urfer purfer@ucsc.edu SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER! Click here
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