"The Right to Life? A Right to Die? ....Nonsense!" A talk and discussion with Professor Dennis Cooley. September 24, 2014
The Ethics of Death: Religious and Philosophical Perspectives in Dialogue, a new book by Lloyd Steffen and Dennis R. Cooley, explores the moral issues that arise when humans deal with death. It includes chapters on abortion, the death penalty, war, suicide, physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. Steffen is professor of religion studies, university chaplain and director of the Center for Dialogue, Ethics and Spirituality and the Prison Project at Lehigh.
Cooley is professor of philosophy and ethics and associate director of the Northern Plains Ethics Institute at North Dakota State University. Steffen and Cooley held a panel discussion about their book at Lehigh on Sept. 24.
At the end of each chapter in their book, Steffen and Cooley ask each other questions. Steffen comes from a natural law ethical perspective, which, he says, “becomes sort of a basin that catches the best parts of all the other ethical theories without necessarily taking the worst parts.” Cooley prefers a Pragmatic Principle, which he describes as part utilitarianism and part Kantianism. During his visit to Lehigh, Cooley joined Steffen for an interview with Rosa Rojas, which follows.
Is it better for controversial matters involving death to be decided by the Supreme Court (such as abortion) or by the states (such as assisted suicide and the death penalty)? Steffen: Part of what you’re asking is about the general relationship of law to morality, and law has a role to play. In controversial issues where consensus about moral meaning is lacking we sometimes have to turn to those institutions that make decisions on policy so that we can conduct the normal business of society. On life and death issues we have to set and abide by moral standards that we then translate as best we can into social policy—law—to determine what’s permissible and not permissible.
Cooley: It depends on what the issue actually is. I don’t want to treat death as a monolithic sort of thing; it needs to be broken down into its component parts. Sometimes smaller groups do a better job making decisions because they understand the people the decisions will apply to better. So states, in certain cases. But sometimes you do need to have a national decision on these issues just so that people can do their planning and understand what’s going on. I do want to make a distinction between law and morality. Morality applies to all of our actions, all the time. What law needs to do is to be able to give you rules so that society can run. We’re interested in morality, which includes personal morality. An individual has a certain morality, certain realities about their situation: it’s their parents dying, their child dying or they’re dying. Those are unique circumstances and those decisions should rest with those individuals. Steffen: Sometimes the issue is what role law should play at all. That’s one of the issues in the abortion debate, which is not only a moral but a legal and medical question as well: is it a legal issue that needs to be straightened out by the courts or is it a medical issue that a woman should be undertaking with her physician? There’s a disagreement about that in our society and when you have a disagreement about that kind of issue, we often turn to the law to manage the conflict and maintain societal peace.
In your chapter on abortion, you say that a potential person (fetus) cannot be as intrinsically valuable as a person (woman).
Cooley: The reason why I say the fetus is a potential person is because being a person requires certain characteristics. One of them is being rational. And rationality is quite an advanced thing for a person to do. It’s being able to make your decisions, being able to look at evidence, change your behavior, change your viewpoint based on the evidence, to make free choices. There’s a lot involved with it and fetuses can’t do that because their brains have not developed, especially if we are talking about a conceptus, an entity that’s basically the head of a pin. If it’s between a person and a fetus, a person is usually more intrinsically valuable just for that ability to reason, but also because they’re part of emotional relationships with other individuals. They are very tied in to the community, in to their families and so on…all of that counts, too. The fetus has the potential for that, but not the actuality.
Would more people think this way if men were the ones getting pregnant?
Cooley: I’ve always had a suspicion that the reason the abortion issue is so controversial and so heated is the fact that it is about women and giving women power. Men don’t really have any authority in being pregnant so you have this threat to power even though there’s really no threat to power involved here at all. The other part is that it’s so bound up in religion, which is part of people’s identity. When you’re questioning a person’s religion, you’re questioning them and their value as a person and that is like being called the worst name on the face of the earth and it hurts, it hurts a lot and there’s a threat so people react often violently.
Steffen: I agree with that perspective and I would just note how patriarchal our religious institutions are. It’s not just Western religions. We see this in Christianity, Judaism and Islam, but religions across the board have reflected patriarchal power arrangements that hold decision-making power over women. If you look at the abortion debate in the United States, the most vocal people on that issue seem to be men. I think that’s clearly the case. Abortion is a serious moral issue, but it is also a political issue that is raised in campaigns to gather votes from various voter blocks, some of which are religious blocks, and the difficult moral issues involved in abortion rarely get a hearing when they are reduced to slogans by people running for office.
What are your thoughts on the sex-selective abortions that have helped cause the “Missing Girls Phenomenon” in Asian countries?
Cooley: Sex-selective abortions are a tragedy in a huge way and the reason is because these women are being pressured to have abortions. Sometimes it’s the culture itself that they’ve inculcated so they’re doing it themselves. We have examples in India and China; those are the two most prevalent. By the way, Japan sometimes sex-selects for females to balance things out and because of their culture. In China and India, we have examples where midwives were forced to kill the female infant or to throw the infant down the well. This is after birth so this is not an abortion, this is murder. In China, a huge number of female infants are abandoned because they have had that restrictive one child/one couple rule. In comparison, the sex-selection abortions are not as bad because I think that if you have a baby, that’s intrinsically different from a fetus because one’s a potential and one’s an actuality. What they are doing, a lot of times, is making the best of a bad situation. I don’t like either one. I wish neither one would be done, but my wishing it and saying it shouldn’t happen isn’t a practical sort of thing. It’s happening. This is minimizing damage. The women who are doing this aren’t doing it, a lot of times, out of free will. In fact, I don’t know any time they do it from free will. Their families are forcing them, their spouses or males or the government is forcing them. It’s a very dangerous situation for them so I think just to protect themselves it can be morally permissible. In fact, it might turn into a moral obligation because I’m worried about the woman being destroyed in this. There are instances in which they are killed. That’s how bad of a situation it is. If it’s between female infanticide and female sex-selective abortions, I chose sex-selective abortions.
Steffen: I addressed the justifiability sex selection abortion in a book I wrote on the abortion question some years ago. If you were just to look at the idea of a society engaged in sex-selective abortion, it seems to me that it’s a coercive practice. A woman is not being acknowledged as an autonomous decision-maker. There are pressures being put on her that coerce her into doing something she does not want to do, and I think it’s a kind of abortion that cannot be morally justified. But if we’re talking about a political situation, which is the question you asked, where a woman’s life can be in danger if she doesn’t do this, I’m with Dennis. I think the woman’s life always trumps that of the fetus.
What are your thoughts on the recent botched executions in Oklahoma and Arizona?
Steffen: All I can say about that is that if there were such a thing as a justified execution—I don’t accept that there is even though that is how I approach the issue as an ethicist—one criterion that would have to be met is that persons not be tortured in executing them, at a minimum. Those botched executions are instances of torture. I’m opposed to the death penalty for all sorts of reasons and that one is an emotional strike. The idea that someone is taking 30 minutes to die and they’ve been given some kind of drug so that their reactions can’t be seen by the witnesses—they’re sedated with the cocktail they’re given, which prevents them from being overtly demonstrative about what they’re going through—is a moral horror.
Cooley: One of the main reasons I’m against death penalty is because it damages the morality of those imposing it. These botched executions should have been a wake-up call to that morality when people said, “Oh my gosh, this is terrible.” But what are they doing? They are going to keep doing it and in fact they said, “We’ll bring back the firing squad.” I think Utah is talking about bringing back the firing squad. Why would you do this? After you get your hand burned on a stove, you know not to put your hand on the stove again. We were burned seriously by this. So what’s the motivation to keep doing this? There’s an anger there that is not good for the individuals doing it. There’s hatred there, not a respect for life. I know these people who are being executed are generally not the nicest people in the world, but what does it say about us, the people who are doing it? We are able to form this opinion in anger to kill someone even though we know how horrific it is.
Dennis Cooley asked this question at the end of the chapter on war: Do you think religious beliefs contribute to more war and violence than if people were agnostics or atheists?
Steffen: I think it’s a mistake to think that religion causes violence. Religion is revelation, and people have to interpret revelation, so religion is what people make of it. It’s a cultural force. It’s a cultural institution. You can find people who want to use their religion to provide justification for various kinds of activity, some of them good and some of them not good. There are people who are religious who engage in acts of violence and undertake warfare and acts of terrorism. They can use their religion to help justify what they’re doing, but it doesn’t mean religion itself is the propelling force that’s making that happen. There are usually political causes and power issues at stake when people resort to violence. To be able to say that God is on my side is a very strong philosophical place to stand. It may not be the soundest argument to make, but it is a very strong argument to make because you’re claiming that the power in the universe that has all knowledge and all moral understanding is supporting, endorsing and propelling you forward to act in a certain way. It’s hard to argue against a position grounded in ultimate reality. We need to draw some distinctions between what religion is and what people do with religion. I’ve argued that religion can be about anything. People can justify the most heinous things that human beings have ever done by claiming God told them to do it. Religion has also inspired the noblest things that human beings have ever done. So what is that? It just means that religion can be used by human beings to justify what they are motivated to do for reasons that extend way beyond religion.
If physician-assisted suicide is made legal in the United States, some say the “right to die” may turn into an “obligation to die,” that people may put pressure on aging relatives. What are your thoughts on that?
Cooley: There hasn’t been a dramatic increase in physician-assisted suicide. But there has been a dramatic increase in people talking about the issues and trying to figure out how they want their lives to end. That’s been the real result of it. Margaret Battin thought there would be this pressure you’re talking about and that the society would change in such a way that the culture forces people to commit suicide, but that hasn’t happened.
Steffen: Even in Oregon, when that whole discussion got underway for the Death with Dignity physician-assisted suicide law, what happened as a result of doing the referendum and having the public conversation was that people came forward and said, “You know there are medical alternatives through palliative care.” A lot of people had never heard of hospice or the idea of palliative care and as a result of all of that open discussion about difficult dying palliative care is now something taught in medical schools. It’s integrated into medical training in such a way that it doesn’t just mean end of life anymore. Palliative care can be used for people with chronic illnesses and it has a much broader kind of meaning now. So some wonderful results have come out of having discussions about physician-assisted suicide. The idea that physician assistance in dying is a slippery slope and if we allow it we’re going to be killing the most vulnerable people in our society, people who can’t resist pressure and things like that… just go to the Oregon law, there are so many safeguards. I counted them up when I was doing research on the issue. There are about 70 different conditions placed in the Oregon law that have to be satisfied before you can get a doctor to prescribe a lethal dose of pills, and when you get them it doesn’t mean you have to take them. Half the people who get them don’t use them, but they’re really glad that they have them because they want to know that if things get really, really bad they’re going to have some ability to control what happens to them. When I hear appeals to a slippery slope argument, I feel like the ability to think has gone out the window. Slippery slope arguments are meant to cut off conversation. I think what’s important is looking at the actual record of what has happened in a state like Oregon, because the data says that’s not what has happened. Abuse of physician assistance has not occurred in the tightly regulated and legally constrained Oregon system, and it is not likely to happen in the future.
Story by Rosa Rojas
New Book Published (March 28, 2007): Lloyd Steffen, Professor of Religion Studies and University Chaplain, has published Holy War, Just War: Exploring the Moral Meaning of Religious Violence with Rowman and Littlefield.
"In this important book, Lloyd Steffen argues persuasively that religion is ultimately about human choices. Whether religion serves or destroys us will be determined by the integrity of our moral vision of goodness and our willingness to allow that vision to challenge religiously inspired violence."—Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, professor of justice and peace studies, University of St. Thomas, author of Is Religion Killing Us? Violence in the Bible and the Quran
"A powerful and moving reminder of religion's power to inspire both good and evil action; to justify or restrain human destructiveness. Steffen argues persuasively that religion itself must be subject to moral scrutiny, and that our deliberations about the goodness or badness of our contemplated actions require moral - not just religious - reasoning. At a time when leaders are increasingly motivated by their interpretations of religions teachings, this book teaches us that every one of us - especially political and religious leaders - has the obligation to ensure that our conceptions of ultimacy not be overtaken by absolutist thought."—Jessica Stern, Harvard University, author of Terror in the Name of God
"Lloyd Steffen offers a much needed corrective vision of religion, and its destructive potential. The Demonic Turn is an important contribution to understanding that the margin between peace and violence in religion is always on the verge of collapsing, and often does so, with tragic consequences for humanity."—Hector Avalos, professor of religious studies, Iowa State University, author of Fighting Words: The Origins of Religious Violence
"Steffen makes a thoughtful argument for a bold, indeed a radical idea. The god that most of us want is a god of absolute power and control who assures a steady course towards goodness no matter how morally chaotic the appearance of things may be. But Steffen argues that the idea of such an absolute god is necessarily linked to religiously legitimated violence. If we want to ameliorate the human condition we need a new understanding of 'the ultimate'. If, as Steffen argues, our understanding of god must be measured by the moral consequences of those ideas here on earth, then traditional theology has a long ways to go before it becomes less dangerous to humans."—John Raines, professor of religion, Temple University
"This is urgently relevant, present-tense theology on the power of religion to inspire either slaughter or peace. Lloyd Steffen candidly subjects religion—and even God—to deft exploratory surgery."—Daniel C. Maguire, Marquette University
"This book persuasively argues that religion is like fire: powerful, dangerous, and in need of control. This thesis is applied to an interesting variety of examples: Japanese kamikaze pilots, the suicides at Jonestown, attacks on abortion doctors, and the terrorism of September 11. Each example of religious fanaticism helps illuminate the difference between life-affirming and demonic religion.
The second half of the book provides a useful critical examination of three rival ideas about the justification of violence: pacifism, holy war/jihad, and the just war tradition. Steffen argues that even pacifists can become 'demonic' when they embrace absolute pacifism in a fanatical fashion. And he concludes that, despite its imperfections, the just war tradition represents the most moderate approach to the justification of violence.
In the end, the book provides a powerful defense of the idea that we should use morality to criticize demonic religion. But this book is not anti-religion. It avoids an outright rejection of religion and admits that religion can be life-affirming. However, it does challenge religious believers to apply moral judgment to the religious traditions that provide meaning to their lives. "—Andrew Fiala, professor of philosophy, California State University, Fresno
In 2006, Steffen's award-winning book on the death penalty was republished by Wipf & Stock Publishers.
Executing Justice: The Moral Meaning of the Death Penalty
Lloyd H. Steffen
"This compelling book incisively analyzes every philosophical and humanitarian argument about the death penalty. It is a searching study of the ultimate invalidity of all the arguments advanced to justify the ultimate power of the state. The last chapter . . . is a powerful treatment of the reasons why Christianity must logically be opposed to the death penalty. No one is entitled to be heard in the fractious debate about the death penalty until that person has pondered the material discussed in this indispensable book."
-- Robert F. Drinan, SJ,
Professor of Law
Georgetown University Law Center
"Lloyd Steffen has powerfully explored the moral reasoning of the death penalty. By utilizing the case of Willie Darden, he brings an abstract argument home on a personal level. Finally he poses what this means for those of us who are Christians. What will be your answer? This book provides an excellent consideration of all the available options."
-- Rev. Joseph B. Ingle,
Nobel Peace Prize nominee for his
ministry to persons on death row
"We have, by now, a shelf of books that offer empirical, constitutional, or political discussions of the death penalty. What we don't have is a comprehensive, accessible, and persuasive evaluation of the death penalty in our society from the moral point of view. Thanks to Lloyd Steffen's new book, that need has been met. He enables us to see in patient detail just how difficult -- if he is right, how impossible -- it is to defend the death penalty on moral grounds. May his argument reach and persuade many!"
-- Hugo Adam Bedau,
editor of The Death Penalty in
America: Current Controversies
"There is no moral, legal, or ethical justification for the death penalty, and Executing Justice makes this abundantly clear. Steffen makes a compelling case that America can lift itself into the league of nations that long ago abandoned this barbaric practice."
-- Morris Dees,
cofounder and chief trial counsel of the
Southern Poverty Law Center
Lloyd Steffen is University Chaplain, Professor and Chair of the Religion Studies Department at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He is the author of Life/Choice: The Theory of Just Abortion (1994) and The Demonic Turn: The Power of Religion to Inspire or Restrain Violence(2003).
ISBN: 1-59752-597-9 / 194pg. / $17.60
Chaplain's Activity: ACURA Meeting
Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice Board of Directors Meeting,
Washington Plaza Hotel, Washington D.C. (Steffen Vice-Chair of Board)
Chaplain's Activity: First Annual Gandhian Nonviolence Conference
Memphis Tennessee, topic: "Teaching to Practice Gandhian Nonviolence: Perspectives from Academics and Activists: Steffen to deliver paper.
Chaplain's Activity: Religion and Cash Performance
Banana Factory, Bethlehem
Chaplain's Activity: DPI/NGO Conference
United Nations, New York: Steffen representing RCRC
Chaplain's Activity: Commencement
Commencement Speaker: Kurt Vonnegut
Chaplain's Activity: Baccalaureate
Baccalaureate Speaker: Mark Juergensmeyer
Chaplain's Activity: South African Religious Summit
Lloyd Steffen will serve as a Ford Foundation Consultant to the South African Religious Summit to be held at Cape Town, South Africa
Chaplain's Activity: The Passion of Christ
Lloyd Steffen will serve as a panelist at the Hillel Center for a discussion of Mel Gibson's The Passion of Christ.
Chaplain's Activity: The DaVinci Code
Chaplain's Activity: Abortion and Religious Thought
Lloyd Steffen will offer a presentation to the Allentown Planned Parenthood Clergy Advisory Group.
Chaplain's Activity: Unborn Victim of Violence Act
Lloyd Steffen joined Rev. Robert Tiller, Legislative Coordinator of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, on Capitol Hill to express concern and opposition to the proposed "Unborn Victim of Violence Act," the aim of which is to redefine fetal life in terms of personhood, which is a right-bearing category with enormous legal and moral implications. Passage of this act, which does not once metion woemen, would severely curtail the ability of women to exercise reproductive choice in the United States. Steffen joined Tiller and others to meet with aides in the offices of Senator Blanche Lincoln, (D-AK) and Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA).
Chaplain's Activity: Lloyd Steffen with Dennis Kucinich
In March, Lloyd Steffen was invited to brief the domestic issues staffer of presidential candidate, Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) on the abortion issue. Steffen is pictured with Kucinich above:
Chaplain's Activity: Steffen Book out
Chaplain's Activity: United Nations Event
Chaplain's Activity: Religion and the Restraint of Violence (Lloyd Steffen Speaking Engagements)
Rise and Shine Breakfast, Lehigh University
Chaplain's Activity: Lloyd Steffen Speaking
Vespers Service, Packer Memorial Church, Lehigh University
Chaplain's Activity: Speak Out! (Lloyd Steffen Speaking Engagements)
Response to Westboro Baptist Church protest of Lehigh, Packer Memorial Church
Lehigh University Vespers, (December 8, 2002)
Chaplain's Activity: The Moral Meaning of Demonic Religion (Lloyd Steffen Speaking Engagements)
Talk on current writing and research, Humanities Center
Chaplain's Activity: The Moral Meaning of Demonic Religion (Lloyd Steffen Speaking Engagements)
Talk on current writing and research, Humanities Center
Chaplain's Activity: Title TBA (Lloyd Steffen Speaking Engagements)
Setauket United Church of Christ, Long Island: Program on the Death Penalty
Chaplain's Activity: On Holy and Unholy Wars (Lloyd Steffen Speaking Engagements)
Chaplain's Activity: Take Back the Night (Lloyd Steffen Speaking Engagements)
March (opening), Lehigh University
Chaplain's Activity: The United Church of Christ Coalition Against the Death Penalty
Board Meeting, Cleveland, OH (3 days)
Chaplain's Activity: American Academy of Religion Meeting
Held in Denver, CO
Chaplain's Activity: Faith and the Use of Force (Lloyd Steffen Speaking Engagements)
Hope United Church of Christ, Allentown
Family Weekend Service (Lloyd Steffen Speaking Engagements)
Chaplain's Activity: Pilgrim Peace Lecturer (Lloyd Steffen Speaking Engagements)
The Peace Forum, Duluth, Minnesota
The War in Iraq: The Moral Issues (Lloyd Steffen Speaking Engagements)
The Humanities Center, Lehigh University
Chaplain's Activity: Family Weekend (Lloyd Steffen Speaking Engagements)
Chaplain's Activity: Board of Directors Meeting
Held at the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Washington D.C.
Chaplain's Activity: Frederick Wood Lecture
Cornell University (Lloyd Steffen Speaking Engagements)
Guest Preacher, Sage Chapel, Cornell University, (October 20, 2002)
Chaplain's Activity: Executive Committee Meeting, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
Washington, D.C.
Chaplain's Activity: NGO representative to U.N for Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
September 9, 10, 11 2002
Chaplain's Activity: Society for Values in Higher Education (Lloyd Steffen Speaking Engagements)
Remarks to Open the "Speak Out for Peace"
Ulrich Center, Lehigh University Campus: 20 September 2001
Lloyd Steffen, University Chaplain, Professor of Religion Studies and Chair, Department of Religion Studies
A group of concerned students, clearly upset yet wanting to respond meaningfully to the events of Tuesday, September 11, have invited us all here today. We gather under their "Call for Humane Understanding and Action." I am pleased to be here to support the effort they are making to urge us into reflection on issues of justice, in the effort they will certainly make in the next two hours to help us distinguish between patriotism and nationalism, to expose the distorting effects of religious fundamentalism in whatever faith tradition, and to advocate, as I assume speakers today here will advocate-for reasoned and multi-dimensional political solutions rather than sole reliance on military response.
In opening today's event, I want to express a couple of concerns. Let it not be overlooked that in coming here today, we continue to share with all persons of good will a deep moral outrage over the terrorist attacks that on September 11 killed thousands of innocent persons. These acts cannot be morally justified, and we are aware today that all persons of good will-not just Americans but all persons of good will-share membership in a common moral community. That community transcends national boundaries and binds us together, across difference in language, culture, national and religious identity, with a common moral vision of respect for persons and affirmation of the goodness of life and the need to live together in peace. There is a deep unity among us-all of us are concerned for the victims of violence and hatred, all of us are concerned for the security of our nation and our loved ones; all of are joined by a passion for justice and, I hope, a quest for understanding. And all of us extend condolences and sympathy to the families and loved ones of victims, some of whom are right here in the Lehigh community.
So we mourn the dead. We offer our sympathy and comfort to the loved one's of victims. We also reach out in love and friendship to our Muslim brothers and sisters, as well as people of all faith traditions, since it is only through interfaith understanding and solidarity that true peace can be established. This past week we have been aware of all that unites us.
But we are united in freedom and under a cherished form of government that protect questioning, disagreement and dissent. Our grief is universal, but how we should act in response to last week's acts of violence is not self-evident. Whatever is done must be argued for, debated and questioned. And disagreements may arise. Those disagreements are not about the moral meaning of what happened but about what to do in response, and rather than springing from un-American impulses, these questions and disagreements go to the heart of our constitutionally protected liberties and all that our flag symbolizes. This is complimented here at Lehigh in our educational mission, since integral to that mission is the development of critical, analytic abilities, and the fostering of what Martha Nussbaum has called "cosmopolitan citizenship"-to be educated means to be able to step into the world in all of its complexity with some understanding of that world and with critical acumen.
Speakers today are going to recommend to you action. Here are a few I would recommend.
Learn more about Islam and the Middle East so that you might be an enlightened and compassionate voice in an increasing climate of religious hostility and racial prejudice. Read a book about Islam. Take a course.
Consider long and hard what retaliation will mean and whether justice can be served if the effect of proposed actions is to harm even more innocent persons. President Kennedy once said that we should not seek the victory of might but the vindication of right-might and right may be tied together more tightly in the days ahead than is wise. Be a good cosmopolitan citizen and urge that innocent persons be shielded from harm even as action to counter terroism is mounted.
Be voice in your community against hate crimes, and join in efforts to show support to Muslims and persons of Arabic background among us. Make sure Lehigh is a safe haven for all persons and that you-we-show hospitality and appreciation for our international students.
And finally, resist any movement that seeks to use this tragedy as the mechanism to promote racial hatred or to blame or scapegoat any group of people-or that seeks to advance opportunistic political agendas that unnecessarily escalate militarism and violence while ignoring other needs of people in this country and around the world.
Let us express our hope that we shall pursue as a nation and as a moral community that transcends national boundaries both justice and peace in the days ahead. And let us work together to affirm all that unites us, both in sadness, and in hope for a better, and more just world.
Press Conference, Packer Memorial Church
Statements from Lehigh Valley Religious Leaders Opposing Attitude of Hatred and Acts of Disrespect or Violence Toward Muslims or Persons of Arabic Background
Statement by Rev. Dr. Lloyd Steffen, University Chaplain, Lehigh University
The tragic events of September 11 have shocked a nation and visited all persons of good will with a terrible loss. Expressions of sympathy are pouring forth from every community around our country and from nations around the world to the families and loved ones of the victims of Tuesday's violence. These events have also inflicted terrible suffering on families in the Lehigh Valley, some of whom live in the bewildering anxiety of not knowing what has happened to family members and loved one's who may have been directly affected by Tuesday's terrorist acts.
he religious community of the Lehigh Valley, while diverse in belief and practice of faith traditions, has been able to find bonds of unity despite differences among us. It is our belief that we can speak with one voice in expressing hope that there will be yet more survivors found. We can speak with one voice in condemning such violence as occurred Tuesday in New York, Washington, D.C., and Somerset County, PA. We can speak with one voice in urging all people of faith to offer prayer for our nation while offering comfort to the many victims of Tuesday's attack.
It appears from initial investigations that the perpetrators of Tuesday's violence may be from the Middle East. It also appears that around the nation attitudes of hatred and even acts of violence are beginning to be directed by Americans at other Americans or foreign nationals among us who are Muslims and persons of Arabic background. This kind of reaction of anger and hostility is unworthy of our American ideals of tolerance and inclusivity; it is a betrayal of a covenant of respect that all persons of good will owe to Muslims and persons of Arabic background who live among other Americans as neighbors, friends, colleagues-as brothers and sisters.
As grief turns to anger in the days ahead, as the body count rises, it is possible that incidents of abuse and disrespect toward Muslims and persons of Arabic background may increase. Representatives of various faith traditions in the Lehigh Valley have agreed to interrupt schedules and on short notice come together this day to say with one voice that hatred and violence have no place here. With one voice we condemn any attitude of hatred or act of disrespect or violence that may be directed at our neighbors, colleagues, friends,-brothers and sisters in faith-who may be Muslim or of Arabic background. Such attitudes, such acts, have no place in the practice of religious faith.
It is said these days that America was attacked this week. That may be so. But our neighbors and friends, our colleagues and brothers and sisters in faith from the Islamic community, were not the attackers. We join together with them, as they join with all other persons of good will, in sorrow and grief for all that has this week been lost.
I would now offer statements from Rabbi Allen Juda, of Bethlehem, a statement of the Easton Area clergy and a statement from the Islamic Society of North America. (see below)
I would then invite those who have gathered here this day to offer their statements of support for the Muslims and persons of Arabic background among us.
Persons scheduled to appear:
Dr. Muhamad Bugaighis, President of the Muslim Center of the Lehigh Valley
Father Richard Ford, Ecumenical Officer, representing Allentown Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church
Rev. David Wickman, Moravian Church Central Office
Dean William Lane, Cathedral Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem (Representing the Bishop of the Bethlehem diocese),
Rev. Toby Hollaman, Penn NE United Church of Christ, Associate Conference Minister
Rev. Katherine Ziel, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (Bishop's Office)s
Rev. Edith Roberts, St. Peters Lutheran Church
Rev. Helen Cochorane, Director, Bethlehm Council of Churches
Rev. Robert Wilt, Fritz Memorial Methodist Church (representing Superintendent's Office)
Ms. Mary Lou Hatcher, Clerk, Friends Meeting, Bethlehem
Father Wayne Killian, Director, Newman Center Lehigh University
Rev. Chris Giesler, Chaplain, Moravian College
Statement by Rabbi Allen Juda, Congregation Brith Sholom, Bethlehem
In traditional Jewish literature, the Rabbis asked: "Why, when the world was created, did God create just one man, Adam, and one woman, Eve? The Rabbis then answered: "so that all humankind would come from a single union, to teach us that we are all brothers and sisters." Especially during these traumatic times, we should all remember this lesson - ultimately, we are all brothers and sisters.
The Jewish community of the Lehigh Valley condemns any discriminatory behavior and, particularly at this time, any prejudice demonstrated against Moslems or Arabs. The cowardly terrorists who have attacked us this week have already claimed too many innocent victims. We should not add to their bigotry and violence by engaging in any more. The terrorists murdered as a result of baseless hatred. Baseless hatred is always destructive and has no place on a college campus or anywhere else in a civilized society
Greater Easton Clergy Association and sent to the Morning Call and Express-Times
To the Editor:
We mourn the loss of innocent people and stand with their families and loved ones in their grief and with all who have suffered as a result of the attack on our nation Sept. 11.
The most important institution in this country can never be destroyed. It is Democracy itself, with its commitment to the sanctity of all human life. The tragic events of Sept. 11 have precipitated in some, however, a response of ultra-nationalism and xenophobia that violates
the principles upon which our nation was founded. We reject all efforts to use this attack on our national institutions as a justification so smear any people or nation with hateful labels. We are all capable of nurturing hatred and we all work hard to control our baser passions.
Those responsible for the terrible events of last Tuesday deserve to be brought to justice. But, while we applaud all efforts to punish the guilty, we also call upon our nation to help in every way it can to ameliorate conditions of poverty and despair, at home and abroad, that
can make terrorism an attractive alternative.
Our greatest security can only be in a world where all people have avenues to achieve human dignity.
Sincerely,
The Greater Easton Clergy Association
Islamic Society of North America
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 9/11/2001
ISNA JOINS IN CONDEMNING TERRORIST ATTACKS
(Plainfield, IN 9/11/2001) "The Islamic Society of North America
(ISNA), along with other Muslim organizations throughout North
America, today condemned the apparent terrorist attacks in New York
and Washington and offered condolences to the families of those who
were killed or injured."
"American Muslims utterly condemn what are apparently vicious and
cowardly acts of terrorism against innocent civilians. We join
with all Americans in calling for the swift apprehension and
punishment of the perpetrators. No political cause could ever be
assisted by such immoral acts."
Signatories:
>American Muslim Alliance
>American Muslim Council
>Association of Muslim Scientists and Engineers
>Association of Muslim Social Scientists
>Council on American-Islamic Relations
>Islamic Medical Association of North America
>Islamic Circle of North America
>Islamic Society of North America
>Ministry of Imam W. Deen Mohammed
>Muslim American Society
>Muslim Public Affairs Council
Steffen appointed to board to deliver lectures
Lloyd Steffen, University Chaplain, Professor of Religion Studies and Chair of the Department of Religion Studies, was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Washington, D. C. Steffen has also been invited to speak at an upcoming conference on "The Morality of the Death Penalty" sponsored by the Catholic University Law School (March 29 and 30). His talk is entitled "From Natural Law to American Law: The Theory of Just Execution." Steffen will also speak on "The Ethical Challenge of Spiritual Diversity" "at an international conference on the Spiritual Marketplace held at the London School of Economics in late April.
Dr. Lloyd Steffen Testimony Before PA Senate Judiciary Committee re: Bill 952
My name is Lloyd Steffen. I am the University Chaplain and a Professor Religion Studies at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. I am also the author of a book, Executing Justice: The Moral Meaning of the Death Penalty published last year.
I am an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. This denomination, like all the other mainline Protestant Churches in America, has gone on record as a Church body to oppose the death penalty and work for its abolition.
Of course not all members of the United Church of Christ support the Church's stance on capital punishment, and there is even support for the death penalty in the PennNortheast Conference of the United Church of Christ of which I am a part. This conference is made up of 170 churches and claims 55,000 members. The Penn Northeast Conference is one of four UCC Conferences in Pennsylvania and covers the easternmost quarter of the Commonwealth.
Every year, our conference brings clergy and lay representatives from our 170 churches to an annual meeting where we conduct the business of the Church. Two years ago, a Peace and Justice Task Force in the Conference submitted a resolution calling for a moratorium on executions in Pennsylvania, doing so not to reiterate the stand of our denomination, but to appeal to those members of our Conference who support execution, to respond to the disturbing way execution is practiced in America today. Disturbing: because there is overwhelming evidence of wrongful convictions in capital cases; disturbing: because there is overwhelming evidence of discrimination in the application of the death penalty on racial, gender and class lines; disturbing because the death penalty is sought and pursued overwhelmingly in cases where the defendant cannot afford counsel and must rely on overworked and sometimes inadequate court appointed lawyers; disturbing because of arbitrariness in our criminal justice system.
In 1998 at our Conference Annual Meeting, we were told that our moratorium resolution was not going to pass. Rather than withdraw our resolution in the face of certain defeat, we agreed on a compromise. We agreed to postpone a vote on a death penalty moratorium so that our clergy and laity might consider this issue, study it for a year, have classes and conversations, and do some education as well as prayerful reflection. This education resolution-which is much akin to what you are considering in Senate Bill 952--passed overwhelmingly and for the simple reason that no one at our annual meeting could in conscience vote against education or for ignorance about the execution system, not if innocent lives were at stake, not if there were issues of injustice and unfairness at stake. The United Church of Christ has historically been committed to working for justice, and we were presenting a claim that injustice had infected America's application of the death penalty.
After our year of study, the PennNortheast Conference gathered last April in its Annual Meeting and once again considered the moratorium resolution. The death penalty was a part of our common program. It was the focus of several hours of small group discussion involving the over 500 people in attendance; and our task was to subject the death penalty and what we had learned about it to a process of spiritual discernment. The resolution was then debated in our business meeting; and it was overwhelmingly passed. Yes, there was still some opposition, but the time of study we had taken, the reflection we gave to this issue, yielded this result: a vote for the moratorium was not a vote on theory, but on practice. Even death penalty supporters had become convinced that the execution practice was flawed. And our moratorium measure was ultimately addressed to them-to death penalty supporters. Supporters of the death penalty are the ones who bear the moral weight of capital punishment, for they are the ones who must be concerned that mistakes are not made and that no execution falls short of the requirements of justice. Death penalty opponents ordinarily rest their opposition elsewhere than in concern over questions about the delivery systems of justice and legal tests of fairness. But not the supporter. Unfairness in the administration of the death penalty will render an execution unjust-and an unjust killing cannot be justified. So death penalty supporters, those who believe executions are justified killings, must insist that execution carry no taint of injustice and unfairness. You cannot support the death penalty and ignore issues of justice. And morally you ought not to turn away from those who are close up to the criminal justice system and who are telling you that there are problems, there is unfairness, there is injustice.
I am speaking to you today on behalf of the PennNortheast Conference of the United Church of Christ and with the authorization of our interim Conference Minister, Rev. Daniel VanderPloeg. I wish you to have a copy of the resolution we passed in 1999. The message I bring to you is that a lot of people in the PennNortheast Conference of the United Church of Christ-55,000 of them in 170 churches-may be at odds over the ultimate validity of the death penalty, but not over the question of justice. Our people studied this issue. They reflected on the evidence of injustice. And they voted to endorse a moratorium. They voted to inform the Governor and Legislature of this Commonwealth of their decision. And in that vote were death penalty supporters who realized that even if they continued to support capital punishment in theory, they could not condone injustice in its application. In the United Church of Christ's General Synod this past summer, the entire denomination voted a similar moratorium resolution, and it too was addressed to death penalty supporters. My denomination felt a need to vote on the moratorium even in the face of our long-standing opposition to capital punishment.
On behalf of the Penn Northeast Conference of the United Church of Christ, I urge you to vote for Senate Bill 952. This is not an up or down on the death penalty-that battle is yet to be fought here. Bill 952, rather, is a vote to take some time out and think about what we are doing-to acquire some information, to assess it, evaluate it, and test it against the standards of justice embedded in the legal detail of the Bill. Although some individuals might oppose this bill on the grounds that the facts about how the death penalty is practiced in America today are well known and need no further investigation, please do not assume this to be true. We have death penalty supporters in my church who voted for a moratorium because they first voted to get information. They voted to learn and educate themselves not about that never ending and sometimes abstract debate over capital punishment, but about how we actually do it-how do we put a person on death row, and who is it who gets there?; and they found out some things that offended their commitment to justice and their sense of decency. I am hoping you might make a similar journey: to vote for learning, for listening, for rendering judgement based on information you may not have at the moment. I support this measure personally because I believe that if you do study this issue, if you do investigate and discover how the death penalty works, if you shift the focus from theory to practice, you will one day join those of us who find the death penalty a terrible model that teaches our children that we can solve societal problems by resorting to violence, and an injustice so great as to subvert in practice our democratic ideal of justice under law.
Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics
The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity sponsors an annual essay contest for full-time undergraduate college juniors and seniors. The compteition encourages students to analyze urgent ethical issues in 3000-4000 word essays. The essays are due January 22 and several prizes are awarded, including a $5000 first prize. More information is available in the Chaplain's Office.
Hot War, Cold War: Syria, the Gulf States and Iran
Alterman has served as a member of the Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State and as a special assistant to the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs. He is a member of the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel and served as an expert adviser to the Iraq Study Group (also known as the Baker-Hamilton Commission).
In addition to his policy work, he teaches Middle Eastern studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the George Washington University. Before entering government, he was the U.S. Institute of Peace and at the Washington Institute Policy. From 1993 to 1997, Alterman was an award-winning teacher at Harvard University, where he received his Ph.D. in history. He also worked as a legislative aide to Senator Daniel NY), responsible for foreign policy and defense. of four books on the Middle East and
His opinion pieces have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and other major publications. his A.B. from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School
For more information contact the Office of Interdisciplinary Programs, Maginnes Hall.
The Wizard of New Zealand Cometh! Event 2
So who is the Wiz of En-Zed? The Wizard of New Zealand (1932-) was born in England and was known as Ian Brackenbury Channell until 1969 at which time he consummated a fundamental transmogrification of his identity as the only officially sanctioned and empowered post-Enlightenment wizard. Founding ALF (Action for Love and Freedom) in the 60s and acquiring advanced degrees in the Sociology of Religion and Art, he eventually made his way to Australia and ultimately came to live in New Zealand in order to carry out psycho-social experiments in relation to his aesthetic cosmology. In 1982 he was declared a “Living Work of Art” and in 1990 the Prime Minister of NZ, Mike Moore (currently the NZ Ambassador to the US), appointed him to the office of Wizard of New Zealand. He specializes in a form of magic which involves altering people’s perceptions of moral and intellectual reality (accompanied by a dollop of levity). For more on the Wizard, see www.wizard.gen.nz and The Wizard of New Zealand on Wikipedia.
The Wizard of New Zealand Cometh! Event 1
So who is the Wiz of En-Zed? The Wizard of New Zealand (1932-) was born in England and was known as Ian Brackenbury Channell until 1969 at which time he consummated a fundamental transmogrification of his identity as the only officially sanctioned and empowered post-Enlightenment wizard. Founding ALF (Action for Love and Freedom) in the 60s and acquiring advanced degrees in the Sociology of Religion and Art, he eventually made his way to Australia and ultimately came to live in New Zealand in order to carry out psycho-social experiments in relation to his aesthetic cosmology. In 1982 he was declared a “Living Work of Art” and in 1990 the Prime Minister of NZ, Mike Moore (currently the NZ Ambassador to the US), appointed him to the office of Wizard of New Zealand. He specializes in a form of magic which involves altering people’s perceptions of moral and intellectual reality (accompanied by a dollop of levity). For more on the Wizard, see www.wizard.gen.nz and The Wizard of New Zealand on Wikipedia.
Sexuality, Gender and Scripture: "A Woman Having her Flowers"
So What’s Going on in the Catholic Church?
An open discussion with an expert observerof the Roman Catholic ChurchKenneth BriggsFormer Religion Editor, New York Timesauthor ofHoly Siege: The Year that Shook Catholic AmericaDouble Crossed: Uncovering the Catholic Church's Betrayal of American Nuns
Prospects for Peace in the Middle East by Noam Chomsky at Lehigh University
Lehigh University welcomes Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor & Professor of Linguistics (Emeritus) at MIT, will deliver a public lecture on Prospects for Peace in the Middle East on Tuesday, February 5 at 7pm in Packard Auditorium, Lehigh University. The February 5 lecture is free and open to the public. Chomsky will also engage in a campus Q&A session between 1:10pm – 3:00pm in Neville 1, located on the campus of Lehigh University.
Chomsky, born in 1928 in Philadelphia, spent his undergraduate and graduate years at the University of Pennsylvania where he received his PhD in linguistics in 1955. He is a US political theorist and activist, and Institute Professor (Emeritus) of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Besides his path-breaking work in linguistics, Chomsky is internationally recognized as one of the most critically engaged public intellectuals alive today. Chomsky continues to be an unapologetic critic of both American foreign policy and the neoliberal turn of global capitalism, which he identifies as a form of class warfare waged against the needs and interests of the great majority.
Over the past five decades, Chomsky has offered a searing critical indictment of US foreign policy and its many military interventions across the globe, pointing out that the United States’ continued support for undemocratic regimes and its hostility to popular or democratic movements contradicts its professed claim to be spreading democracy and freedom in the world. Chomsky’s prolific writing, and his public lectures around the globe, have documented successive American administrations’ support for political and military dictatorships across Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia, as well as the devastating impact of direct American intervention. As Chomsky has stated: "As the most powerful state, the US makes its own laws, using force and conducting economic warfare at will."
Show sponsors for this program are The Visiting Lectures Committee, Lehigh University Humanities Center, Office of the Lehigh Chaplain, South Side Initiative, Center for Global Islamic Studies and the Departments of Political Science, English, History, and Journalism and Communication.
Chaplain's Forum: "Religion: Source of Violence or Source of Peace?"
Lehigh University Welcomes Rabbi Sizomu
Endless Warfare: Where are DRONES Taking Us?
Nick Mottern is director of the nation-wide “Know Drones” Tour. He comes to Lehigh to talk about drone warfare. A graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism and a Viet Nam veteran, he has been a reporter for the Providence Journal and Evening Bulletin, a researcher for a US Senate Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, a lobbyist for Bread for the World, and a writer and organizer of tours dealing with US involvement in Africa. A visitor to many of the world’s war zones, he is author of the book, Suffering Strong.
A Death Row Innocent—Executed
Joe Ingle, twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and recipient of numerous humanitarian awards, has had a long career working with inmates on death rows in the South. In his new book, Inferno: A Southern Morality Tale, Rev. Ingle tells the story of Philip Workman, a man who spent 26 years on Tennessee’s death row and was finally executed despite overwhelming evidence that he did not murder the police officer he was convicted of killing. Sister Helen Prejean says of Ingle’s book: “It is the most detailed, intimate and complete look at a death row prisoner I have encountered. It raises fundamental questions about our moral fabric as a nation.”
Guest Artist Chard DeNiord
An evening of poetry with Chard DeNiord, author of four books of poetry, including the Alabama Poetry Prize winning Asleep in the Fire and The Double Truth, which the Boston Globe named one of the top ten books of poetry in 2011. Praised for his “extraordinary verbal imagination” (Hayden Carruth) and for celebrating “the sheer wonder of being” (Peter Campion), DeNiord, says critic Andrew Hudgins, “sees daily life in terms of eternity and interprets it in a modern rendition of the language of the Biblical psalmist, the language of intelligent and controlled ecstasy.”
Lehigh Prison Project
What is the Lehigh Prison Project and how can you be a part of it? This meeting will provide information about the project, procedures for prison orientation and the expectations for participants. Tutoring focuses on developing reading, writing and math skills and involves one-to-one sessions with low security inmates to help them prepare for high school graduation or GEDs. This project is open to any Lehigh student as a volunteer service opportunity. This is the only information session to be held prior to next spring.
God vs. Gay?
Difficult Dialogues
This "Difficult Dialogue" is a program of the Center for Dialogue, Ethics and Spirituality and funding for it has been provided by a grant from Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedome, a program of the Religious Coalitionh for Reproductive Choice.
Lehigh Prison Project
A meeting of students interested in tutoring at the Northampton County Prison in Easton.
What is the Lehigh Prison Project and how can you be a part of it?
This meeting will provide information about the project, procedures for prison orientation and the expectations for participants. Tutoring focuses on developing reading, writing and math skills and involves one-to-one sessions with low security inmates to help them prepare for high school graduation or GEDs. This project is open to any Lehigh student as a volunteer service op-portunity and this is the only information session to be held prior to next fall.
All Welcome
Questions? Contact Dr. Lloyd Steffen, Director of the Dialogue Center, at x 83877 or “LHS1.”
Speaking Bodies
Lehigh Prison Project - A Program of the Dialogue Center
What is the Lehigh Prison Project and how can you be a part of it?
This meeting will provide information about the project, procedures for prison orientation and the expectations for participants. Tutoring focuses on developing reading, writing and math skills and involves one-to-one sessions with low security inmates to help them prepare for high school graduation or GEDs. This project is open to any Lehigh student as a volunteer service op-portunity and this is the only information session to be held prior to next fall.
All Weclome
Questions? Contact Dr. Lloyd Steffen, Director of the Dialogue Center, at x 83877 or “LHS1.”
The Suffering of Abraham Lincoln A Story of Mental Anguish and Depression on an Extraordinary Individual’s Journey to Wisdom
This lecture is free and open to the public. Made possible by the Visiting Lectures Committee.
For more information contact the Lehigh University Chaplain’s Office—the Dialogue Center: 610-758-3877
Jim Moreno
Join LV Cask and PA-Amnesty International in listening to attorney Jim Moreno speak about the cost and efficiency of capital punishment in the USA.Mr. Moreno has been a public defender for over 20 years and is currently an assistant attorney for the Philadelphi Public Defenders Habeas Corpus.
The Death Penalty and Religion:
Presented by - LV CASK, PA-Amnesty International, & The Chaplain’s Office:
A panel discussing various religious views on capital punishment
Rock 4 Haiti
Rev. Joseph B. Ingle speaking on
Dr. Paul Schlueter Speaking on
Reproductive Rights: The Religious Dimension
Paul Rusesabagina
Considered the "Rwandan Schindler," Rusesabagina saved over 1,200 lives during the Rwandan genocide. His story is chronicled in both his book, An Ordinary Man, and the Oscar-nominated film, Hotel Rwanda, a riveting account of a man finding strength within himself to save others in the midst of his country's darkest moment. As a global humanitarian, he works tirelessly to make certain we understand the lessons of Rwanda to prevent future disasters.
Book signing at the Lehigh University Bookstore from 3:00-4:00 p.m.
Berman Center to Mark the 70th Anniversary of Kristallnacht
This internationally acclaimed musical drama stars Claudia Stevens and tells the stories of concentrations camp prisoners who survived the Holocaust by singing and playing music to their Nazi oppressors.
Arabic Music Seminar
Election: Where are we? Where are we going?
Garbafest
The Wall Street Crisis:
Iftar Dinner
Come and enjoy a catered dinner, learn more about the month of Ramadan and why Muslims fast during the month of Ramadan.
Co-sponosred by the Chaplain's Office, Global Unionm Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Deann of Students Questions? Please contact inmusa@gmail.com
Soul of a Citizen
How can you make your voice heard and your actions count?Paul Loeb explores how to act on our deepest beliefs--and make a difference despite all the obstacles
Women in Tibetan Buddhism:
Professor Gyatso will discuss historical women in Tibetan Buddhism, issues about gender politics, and some distinctive theories about gender from Tibetan communities. She will also consider the current debate about the reestablishment of the fully ordained nun's order in Tibet by the current Dalai Lama.
Tibet Revisited, 20 Years:
Ending the Pursuit of Happiness: A Zen Guide
Contemplative Education
Susan Werner Brings “The Gospel Truth” (“Hymns for the Spiritually Ambivalent”) to Lehigh
Adventures on Top of the World:
A talk and visual presentation
In Search of Shangri-La
Bringing, Building, Spreading: Hope
CRISIS IN IRAQ: POLITICS, OIL, AND REFUGEES
Raed Jarrar is an Iraqi political analyst and consultant to American Friends Service Committee. After the start of the war in 2003, he directed the only door-to-door casualty survery group in post-war Iraq and established a grassroots organization that provided humanitarian and political aid to Iraqi internally displaced persons. Since moving to the United States in 2005 he has contributed to several Iraq-relatedprojects. He writes Foreign Policy in Focus and AlterNet as well as maintaining Raed in the Middle, a web-log with analysis of current Iraqi political conditions.
Diwali 2007: Roshni
Confronting Disparities in Health:
Beyond the Language of Truth: Testimony and Exile after Survival
The Jesus Tomb
Trial by Church
All are Welcome
"The Road Out of Guantanamo: Resisting the War On Terror”
Peace activist Frida Berrigan is a Senior Research Associate with the Arms Trade Resource Center of the World Policy Institute. She has led marches on Guantanamo in an effort to “make the prison and its victims visible to those who are responsible for their torture and abuse.”
"The Face of AIDS: Access and Care in the Lehigh Valley and Kenya"
"Dead Man Walking: The Journey Continues"
Book signing to follow lecture.
Eyes Wide Open
Say Word! Hip Hop Theatre Festival
Peter Balakian
Peters Balakian' award winning memoir, Black Dog of Fate, recounts the experience of his ancestors during the Armenian Genocide
"Sweatshops, Women, and Activism"
Get informed about the reality of sweatshops, experiences of women workers, and what YOU can do about it!
"Sweatshops, Women, and Activism"
Get informed about the reality of sweatshops, experiences of women workers, and what YOU can do about it!
MSA Movie Night
“Contemporary Muslim-Christian Relations from a Historical Perspective”
Khalid Latif is currently serving as the Muslim Chaplain at NYU. In addition to being an educator with Abraham’s Vision, Brother Latif is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Islamic Studies with a concentration on Muslim-Christian Relations. A young, dynamic, and eloquent speaker, Br. Latif draws on his diverse academic and professional background to offer an informed viewpoint on issues past and present.
Open to the Public
"Hajj Experience"
Darfur Diaries: Message from Home" Film Screening
"Evolution and Atheism"
Arrested in 1991 and sentenced to death row for a murder he did not commit, Mr. Krone refused to believe the legal system would convict him. Ray was imprisoned for more than a decade and continued to fight through many appeals until with the help of attorney Alan Simpson he was able to convince an appeals court that DNA pointed to someone else. Krone became the 100th person to be exonerated from death row since 1973. He has traveled throughout the US and Europe, telling his story to audiences that invariably are profoundly moved by the ordeal he survived.
Free and open to the public
Organ Recital - John Finney
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration
As a lawyer and Iran's first female judge, Shirin Ebadi has led the call for challenges in divorce and inheritance legislation and championed the right of womem, families, and children. Ebadi challenges the narrow interpretation of Islam (both from within and without) with a view that underscores the essential compatibility of Islamic teachings with democracy, human rights, and legal protection for women and children, She also challenges the West to discard misconceptions about Muslims and put into practice its democratic ideals in dealing with less powerful nations. Shirin Ebadi was the first Iranian citizen to be awarded the Nobel Peace Price. She chronicles the Iranian reformist movement and her exceptional life in her forthcoming memoir, Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope.
Open to the public free of charge. For more information call 610-758-3352
Bioethics of Stem Cell Research
Renown scholar, Dr. Glen McGee (Director, Bioethics Instititue, Albany Medical College)will discuss the ethical dilemmas posed by stem cell research
Intelligent Design: What does it mean for science? For religion?
Nonviolence in the Age of Terrorism
"James Baldwin Down From the Mountaintop" - Calvin Levels-One Man Performance
"Prophetic Voice, Prophetic Witness: The Living Legacy of James Baldwin"
"James Baldwin: From Another Place"
Wheels of Justice
“Our Bodies, Our Votes: Women’s Health and the Election”
"The Battle for God."
"The Nakedness of the Fathers: Biblical Visions and Revisions"
"Sex, Lies, and The Vagina Monologues."
“What Can I Do? How to Change the World from Where You Are”
Islamic Ethics: From the Premodern to the Postcolonial
Myths and Realities of Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Last year, one American peace activist Rachel Corrie was killed by Israeli Defense Force in Gaza Strip. Before Rachel died, she had written emails to her parents and her friends, and letters were published by British newspaper Guardian. These beautifully well written documents touched millions of people’s heart, and the parents of Rachel Corrie will speak their daughter’s live account of Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The accidental Making of an Activist or How to grow up to be a peacemaker
The Challenge of Race
The Unitarian Universalist Church of the Lehigh Valley, 424 Center Street, Bethlehem. Author of Risks of Faith and Black Theology and Black Power, Rev. Cone is an ordained minister of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Charles A. Briggs Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology of Union Theological Seminary in New York City.
Symbolizing the Holocaust: Maus and Other Projects
Nonviolence in a Time of War
The Producer of Al Jazeera to Speak at Lehigh
The Ever-Alive Dead Sea Scrolls: Their Significance for the Biblical Text, Early Judaism, and Early Christianity
Ted Conover
Film: Trembling Before G-D
Barry Lynn
When Religion Turns Destructive
Ever wonder what the Bible says about Homosexuality?
From Death Row to Freedom: Voices of Innocence
Carole Angier
War with Iraq topic of talks
Barry Lynn
My Escape From Death Row
Parents Under Seige: Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good Parents
In Twenty Minutes You Die: The Fight to Save Philip Workman From Execution
Joseph B. Ingle, Director, Neighborhood Justice Center of Nashville, TN will present a public Lecture on Philip Workman April 26th at 4:10 p.m. in Room 270, Maginnes Hall. Rev. Ingle, a two-time Nobel Peace Prize Nominee, is the author of Last Rights: 13 Fatal Encounters with the State's Justice.
In Twenty Minutes You Die: The Fight to Save Philip Workman From Execution
The Lessons of Bill Clinton
David Maraniss, PulitzerPrize winning author of First in His Class, a biolgraphy of Bill Clinton, and Assoicate editor of the Washington Post will present a public Lecture on Clinton at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 20 in Packard Auditorium. Sponsored by the Visting Lecturers Committee.
The Lessons of Bill Clinton
Religion: Source of Violence or Source of Peace
Public Lecture, "Is Peace in the Middle East Possible?"
Is Peace in the Middle East Possible?
When Justice Kills, Who will Help?
Shawn Armbrust, Northwestern University's case coordinator for the Center on Wrongful Convictions, wil speak at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 30, in Perella Auditorium, Rauch Business Center. The talk is sponsored by the Visiting Lectures Committeeis free of charge and open to the public.