Podcast: A Behavioral Ecomonomic Reading of Ruth

Ruth Meets Boaz

Jump directly to A Behavioral Economic Reading of Ruth Ruth is a Hebrew Bible book that is easy to read in one setting. With only four short chapters, the narrative details cultural and social practices in ancient Israelite society, including social welfare, harvest production, treatment of immigrants, property rights, legal procedures, and more. Ruth is…

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Purim During a Time of Transition

Esther Ferrara Scroll

The Jewish holiday Purim bookmarked my year of celebrating major Jewish holidays, and it fell merely days before my family embarked on a significant cross-country move. So naturally, this meant a few last-minute store visits to purchase baking supplies and simplifying the menu to accommodate our temporary dining table surface. Nevertheless, we made more than…

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Demanding Justice in Psalm 82

Justice for the Poor

This week, I presented a summary of research on Psalm 82 at the Oxford Interfaith Forum Psalms in Interfaith Context Reading Group. We had a lively discussion that ranged from identifying the prophetic voice, the mythological provenance, linguistic and poetic features, and extended theological implications. This presentation opened with a reading of Psalm 82 in…

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The Psalter and Abraham’s Prayers

Surah Ibrahim

This month’s Oxford Interfaith Forum Monthly Interfaith Psalm Reading & Discussion, hosted by the Oxford Interfaith Forum, was led by Ustadha Yomna Helmy, Centre of Islamic Studies, the University of Cambridge on a Comparative Reading of the Hebrew Bible Psalter and Abraham’s Prayers in the Quran. Two Prayer Texts Dr. Helmy brought us along on…

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Tu B’Shvt—A Celebration of Trees and Life

Tu B'Shvt

Tu B’Shvt, January’s Jewish Holiday, called for a celebration of the birth of trees. Another name for the day is Rosh HaShanah La’Llanot, “New Year for Trees.” The holiday recalls the importance of God’s creation and the gift of nature. Trees appear as unique markers in the Torah, so a holiday dedicated to celebrating life…

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A Festival of Light

Festival of Lights

The final 2021 meeting of the Oxford Interfaith Forum Discussion Series featured a discussion about The Festival of Light. We opened our program with recognition of Senior Scholar Rvd. Dr. John Goldingay, who, along with his wife, Kathleen Scott Goldingay, suffered a significant loss this year when Kathleen’s daughter died tragically in an automobile crash.…

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Hanukkah is not a Type of Christmas

The start of Hanukkah coincided this year with the Christian Advent. I love the Advent season. The four weeks leading up to Christmas Day are reflective and a centering time of faith. I found it very enlightening to reflect on the Hanukkah tradition during this time of faithful reflection. We lit the Menorah on Sunday…

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Messiah & Messianism

Messiah Jesus

The third meeting of the Oxford Interfaith Forum Discussion Series met to share different religious views about the Messiah. Two scholars presented historical and biblical traditions from Jewish and Christian perspectives: Dr. Benjamin Sax, Scholar at the Institue for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies (Baltimore, MD), and Rev. Dr. John Goldingay, David Allan Hubbard Professor…

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Podcast: Theological Ethics of Sexbots

ethics of sexbots

Jump directly to Theological Ethics of Sexbots Podcast In an age of quick-paced technological developments, it’s no surprise we are seeing tv-series and films address ethical issues surrounding human interaction with robots. Even though Artificial Intelligence (AI) still has a ways to go before a synthetic being may be able to interact fully and free…

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