Caught Laughing

This is an address delivered to the International Society for Humor Studies in 2007. The question was posed: why is there so much laughter in the Book of Genesis? The Bible was not held up to ridicule or laughed at because it told funny stories. The sacred scriptures were examined to discover what seems odd and out of place both in the events of Abraham’s life and adventures narrated in the text and in the narrative text it self. Not agreeing with those who see the very idea of a divine-human exchange as simply silly, or even dangerously ridiculous, the address suggests that God has the last laugh as he leads those willing to follow, however reluctantly, to discover how ridiculous life would be without a God teasing us to guess at what comes next

First Families; the Genesis Account

The Book of Genesis is principally a description of the emergence of interconnected families with specific relationships such as husband and wife, husband and wife-surrogate ( distinct from prostitutes and harlots ) sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, fathers-sons-daughters-in-law. Love, loyalty, fidelity and affection appear often and in many forms, but no family portrayed in Genesis appears as immune to exploitation, manipulation, trickery, treachery, lust, hatred or murder. Both men and women are seen as active forces in the destiny of these troubled families, for good and ill. We ourselves still bear a likeness to these ancient portraits and many bear their names, Adam, Eve, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Rachel and Joseph, to cite only a few familiar names. This essay is not a formal exegesis. It marks a stage in an ongoing personalenquiry. Also, it is offered as an invitation to those interested in the evolution of family life to look where they might not expect to find anything worth while. What I found is hardly final - for me or for anyone else. Those religious and political leaders who are currently concerned with the plight of families might take a close look at the families which are portrayed in the Book of Genesis

Technology and Culture: Humans Inventing Themselves

Since the ancient Greek myth of Prometheus who stole fire from the god, Zeus, humans have been befuddled by their own cleverness. We make useful tools and devices which seem to free humans for higher pursuits only to discover that the unintended consequences demand that newer and even more clever devices be invented. Sooner or later we find out that the instruments of our technologies are shaping our destiny rather than the other way around. Throughout history this struggle has gone on till the present when the consequences of technological progress seem to many to be overwhelming. If culture is the cultivation of the best in mankind, a new kind of challenge faces us

Mary and the Koran

It is surprising to many Christians that the sacred writings of Mohammed refer to Mary, the mother of Jesus, with such profound respect, even reverence. The Koran stands as a remarkable witness to the Christian and Muslim conviction that Mary played an intimate part in God’s plans for all of mankind. Mary is mentioned by name in the Koran about 35 times, and Jesus is often called, Jesus, the son of Mary. There are, of course, vast differences between the Christian view of Mary and the Islamic view, yet there is no reason to believe that Mohammed deliberately misrepresented any particular Christian beliefs: he simple took at face value the vision of those Christians around him

Touro Synagogue

Touro Synagogue, in Newport, RI, is the oldest Jewish temple in uninterrupted use in the US. Every year the temple rereads the letter sent by George Washington to the congregation pledging the new government to the protection of the freedom of religion. This present address, delivered in 2010, notes that Newport was a point on the journey of the first generations of Jews in America, not unlike the journey of Abraham, a journey into a strange land, inhabited by strange gods, in search of the God who exceeds all expectations. The journey continues to this day, to the outer horizon, which always lies beyond our reach and to the inner horizon where God waits patiently for us, more intimately aware of our searching than we are of ourselves

Hands Respectful and Clean: Cajetan and the Reformation

Tomasso de Vio (1469-1534), later known as Cardinal Cajetan, was a well-respected philosopher and theologian who became progressively more enmeshed in the religious and political turmoil of the sixteenth century. He struggled to understand the thrust of Luther\u27s new way of thinking and to bring the Church to deal with the challenge of radical reform in all aspects of Church life. Some of the changes which the Cardinal recommended to several of the popes he served seemed as revolutionary in his own day as they would in the present. Gradually his perception of the Church as an inclusive rather than an exclusive community evolved. This essay is not intended to be the last word on Cardinal Cajetan\u27s role in the emerging Reformation. Rather, it tries to trace Cajetan\u27s efforts to understand the personalities and forces which both propelled and resisted the unavoidable crisis. He explored every way conceivable to keep the Church intact: in its governance, in its doctrine and discipline, and in its tolerance of error and confusion. Cajetan may well have failed in most of his initiatives, but he stands as a persuasive example of the Church\u27s need at all times for courageous intellectual witnesses, not afraid to think through the roots of the Church\u27s predicament and the solutions it ought to examine