Sunday, February 3, 2008. 10 AM
Why Religion Matters and How to Talk about It
The Sunday Forum: Critical Issues in the Light of Faith
The Very Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd III, host
Cathedral Dean Samuel T. Lloyd III holds a conversation with Krista Tippett, host of the weekly “Speaking of Faith” broadcast on National Public Radio.
Years ago, as a student at divinity school, Tippett valued the thoughtful, nuanced discussions that took place there. By contrast, at that time, “strident” voices in politics and media were the only Christian voices being heard. Americans were generalizing about who Christians were, and what Christianity is, on the basis of these strident voices. The rest of the discussion of faith was missing.
This observation forms part of the impetus behind Tippett’s highly successful radio program. “My longing,” says Tippett, “was to start a new conversation that would be diverse, the way this aspect of life [i.e., faith] is diverse, which would have as much to do with questions as…with answers—which is also how I believe this part of life functions for many of us, much of the time.”
In more recent years, discussion of faith has become more complex and thoughtful, Tippett finds. In addition, another cultural change has occurred: “We’re rediscovering in general the power of story in our culture, which is a great development,” she says. Her own approach to discussing faith has Benedictine influences. The Benedictines, she says, believe that they predate all divisions within Christianity, “not just Protestant/Catholic, but East/West.” The Benedictine model of international ecumenical discussion is a narrative, first-person approach.
Reconciliation—both within and between religions—emerges several times during the discussion. Tippett asserts, for example, that the alleged conflict between faith and science has been exaggerated. “If God is God, we can’t be afraid of what we can learn,” she says. “If God is the Creator, God was the original evolutionary biologist, physicist, mathematician.”
“We human beings are called to discern truth,” she summarizes. At the same time, Tippett welcomes the mysteries all around: the mysteries of Christianity, of others’ beliefs, and of God’s universe.
About Krista Tippett
Krista Tippett is host of the weekly “Speaking of Faith” broadcast on National Public Radio.