We visit two universities with different ideas about maintaining their Catholic identity, and we talk with poet Christian Wiman, senior lecturer in religion and literature at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, about God, religious faith, suffering, and poetry as a spiritual guide.
Author Archives: Fred Yi
Catholic College Identity
What does it mean for a school to be Catholic? “This is a university that’s founded on biblical truth,” says Ave Maria University president Jim Towey. But according to Rev. Kevin O’Brien, vice president for ministry and mission at Georgetown University, “What we did 50 years ago to promote our identity does not suffice today.”
Poet Christian Wiman
“I have a hard time conceiving of a God completely removed from suffering,” says Christian Wiman, a lecturer in religion and literature at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. “Once I understand the notion of Christ participating in suffering, then it makes more sense to me.”
Christian Wiman Extended Interview
“Poetry had always been the place where I’d experienced God and it’s still the place where I feel lifted out of myself and given something I could not understand in any other way.” Watch more of our interview with poet Christian Wiman.
12 Years a Slave, Lawyers for Justice, Conservative Judaism Centennial
We preview the new movie “12 Years a Slave” which opens nationwide this weekend and depicts the complex relationships between slaves, slaveowners, and religion; talk with a New York lawyer who wants to make legal services available to all in Southeast Asia; and look at the challenges facing Conservative Judaism as the movement celebrates its centennial.
12 Years a Slave
A movie based on the true story of Solomon Northup, a free man who was kidnapped in 1841 and sold into slavery, portrays the complex relationships between slaves, slaveowners, abolitionists, and religion.
12 Years a Slave: Steve McQueen and Chiwetel Ejiofor Extended Interviews
“It’s about remembering and never forgetting and understanding from the past and embracing your past in order to go forward into the future.” Watch more of our interviews with “12 Years a Slave” director Steve McQueen and actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays Solomon Northrup, a free man from New York who was kidnapped in 1841 and sold into slavery.
Yolanda Pierce Extended Interview
Watch excerpts from our interview with Yolanda Pierce, associate professor of African-American religion and literature at Princeton Theological Seminary, as she talks about the new movie “12 Years a Slave” and about Christianity and slavery in America. Her most recent book is “Hell without Fires: Slavery, Christianity, and the African-American Spiritual Narrative” (University Press of Florida, 2005).
Lawyers for Justice
Bruce Lasky, founder of Bridges Across Borders Southeast Asia, is setting up legal clinics and instilling in Asian law students the moral obligation to help the poor.
Conservative Judaism Centennial
A century after its founding, Conservative Judaism still represents a centrist approach to Jewish life, one that is both rooted in tradition and informed by modernity. But it faces challenges as membership declines and leaders look for ways to expand outreach, especially to younger Jews.
