I just want to let you know how refreshing it is (and how it gladdens my heart) to find an inter-faith site that is informational, respectful and humorous without being maudlin, dramatic or hysterical. Kudos to the two of you for finding this balance and presenting it in such an entertaining and perceptive way. I identify as a Conservative Jew, I’m a writer (once upon a time a Religion Section columnist for the Stamford, CT Advocate) and open to people of all faiths who show the same respect to me. I’m not surprised that you turned off the comments on your blog – you probably get some pretty hateful or idiotic stuff from all sides. The world needs more people like you two who can sit down together, laugh together, opine together and share your unique perspectives with the world.

Falka – I, too, don’t understand the whole fuss over the headscarf thing considering lots of Orthodox Jewish women wear them, too (as a sign of modesty). A personal choice for sure. Have you ever seen A Slim Peace? http://www.aslimpeace.com/ There’s a comment in the documentary (which covers a Weight Watchers group in Israel that brings 7 West Bank Palestinian women and 7 Jewish women together to loose weight) from a secular Jewish woman who looks at the very religious Arab and Jewish women and says “honestly, I can’t tell you guys apart.”

I found you on BlogHer and will keep reading you now.

Malerie Yolen-Cohen

As a “secularist,” “atheist,” and “humanist,” it is extremely comforting to know – to hear- people of other beliefs expressing that we don’t have to agree on spiritual matters to have a consensus on morality and basic rules of humanity. Secularism is often misunderstood (as is atheism). It is not an attack AGAINST religion as many would believe. Secularism is simply a leveling of the playing field. I don’t want tax dollars going to a 50 foot cross on public land, but you know what? I’d fight just as hard to keep out a pentagram, or a swastika, or Ganesha. In that light, we don’t wish to attack any religion, we simply refuse to elevate any one above the others.

I stumbled across an article the other day about the NYPD and its spying of the Muslim community. I won’t give the link, because I don’t want anyone to lose hours of their life like I did reading the comments and SCREAMING in disgust. I angrily argued with the commentators (though I knew it was a fruitless effort) in defense of the NYC Muslims. It is not because I am any more partial to Islam than I am to Christianity, but because NOBODY deserves the blind and ignorant hatred that was displayed on those pages. Every human is an individual and should be judged based on their personal merits, not their heritage or spiritual beliefs, and no Anglo-American has any right to tell other races or creeds to “go home.” As a white American male of European descent, I’m pretty much guilty by association if not direct relation of the majority of the atrocities committed against mankind for at least the last 1000 years.

I love facts, science, and critical thinking. There are roughly 1.5 Billion Muslims in the world, so I feel confident in claiming that its members are generally peaceful and not out to wipe out “infidels” as so many fearmongers claim. Otherwise we would either already be plunged into a third world war, or they would be the most fan-frickin-tastic keepers of secrets the human race has ever known, just waiting to pounce. I doubt we’re surrounded by ninja Muslims, although that one is harder to prove….

Thanks for letting me vent. I’m always here if you want to do an “ask an atheist” segment. I’d be happy to dish about why I’m not chronically depressed about death, morality, and what babies taste like.

I hope the mark of shame that I’ve just been saddled with doesn’t cause you to lose any sleep.

That is not the case. In a country built on equal opportunity, wouldn’t we expect there to be a better balance in the distribution of wealth than 1% controlling the vast majority? We continue to see families stuck in cycles of poverty while that “1%” seems fairly recession proof. I think the American people are tired of seeing billionaires getting bailouts or bonuses while the average blue or white collar middle class worker is struggling to keep their head above water. Instead of a democratic republic we are turning into a capitalistic oligharchy where control and power lie with the huge corporations that wield their wealth to garner influence. You mention that nothing “illegal” was being done by these corporations or by Wall Street but I would question that. We may not have prosecuted any corporations (yet) for fraud or corruption but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Further, just because a company isn’t doing anything “technicallly” illegal doesn’t mean that it’s not unethical. The fact that the average ratio of CEO pay to worker pay in the US is 125:1 is unethical (many other countries like Japan, France, England, etc. the ratio is more like 15-20: 1) The fact that corporations rake in billions of dollars in profits but pay no taxes is unethical. All of this is happening because corporations (and the millionaires/bilionaires who run them) are increasingly gaining power in their ability to leverage Congress and drive the political agenda. The Supreme Court keeps tipping the scales in favor of corporations and big business and I’m wondering where they will finally draw the line. I think that’s where a lot of the OWS protestors are coming from and it will be interesting to see where the movement goes.

One more thought: I find the comparisons to the Arab Spring and the OWS movement fascinating. Particularly, since your podcast many of the protesters have been removed, subdued, or arrested, sometimes by force. Why is it that our country supports uprisings in Arab nations where individuals are fighting for their right to free speech and arguing against oppression but when it happens in our own country, our government tries to stop the same behavior.

Keep up the great work with the podcast. Just want to throw in my two cents.

Your guys’ podcast is AWESOME! Keep it coming!

Salaam and Shalom,
Heather

You guys had me laughing a bunch of times. Shiny, I am a Litvak-don’t take the Vilna Gaon’s name in vain.