We planned to have a conversation about religion vs. spirituality, the pluses and minuses of ancient tradition’s venerable wisdom set against do-it-yourself theology, the great gulf in American faith communities between organized religion and individual preference. This episode didn’t turn out the way we’d planned. Of course, faith often doesn’t go our way, either.
For our latest live episode, Joey and Haroon pursued an honest, earnest conversation that carried us in directions so unexpected, we’re still not sure how to make sense of them. Why, really, do we observe Lent (or Ramadan)? Joey spoke movingly about how Lent entered his life, a tradition that’s at odds with the Christianity he was raised in (and which Haroon was genuinely surprised to learn about.)
Haroon, in turn, described the tension between the Ramadan on offer and the Ramadan he wants, why American mosques can never make everyone happy, and why there’s such a big difference between the Ramadan we expect and the Ramadan we experience. As Joey would put it, this is a conversation that doesn’t close. It’s also the kind of conversation many believers never get to hear.
Avenue M: Faith. Plus Feelings.
As always, you can check us out above or watch the full episode on YouTube
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During the podcast, we referenced a recent episode of Hidden Brain, “Rethinking Depression,” with new perspectives we think all people of faith should sit with, think about and learn from.
Podcast Piety
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In the meantime, we want to hear from you. What aren’t we thinking about? What should we be talking about? Whose voice are we missing?
Our sponsor for this episode is The Brueggeman Center for Dialogue at Xavier University, here in Cincinnati, which is dedicated to deepening understanding across faiths and promoting systemic change.
Avenue M is produced by Bespoken Live with music by Zach Swelber, who plays in Circle It and Mosant.
