Conversations about Buddha, Jesus, and Mohammed
Religion & Spirituality Podcas
This podcast started when four friends at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte began meeting to learn about each other’s religions, sometimes while reading a common book—and found such discussions so interesting that they decided to record them. One member of the group, David Bashor, was a long-time Methodist (and a biology professor). Another, Mark Pizzato (a theatre professor), had grown up Roman Catholic but was gradually converting to Buddhism. Bill Chu (originally from China and a computer science professor) was more experienced in Buddhism, though also a convert to it. Mirsad Hadzikadic (originally from Bosnia and also a computer science professor) had been raised Muslim and recently increased his adherence to its principles. All four wanted to understand how they viewed Allah, God, or Ultimate Truth in similar and different ways. They started recording these podcast episodes in spring 2015 (with Mirsad leading on the technical side, also with the help of Mark Olson). Unfortunately, David Bashor died in August of that year, from a long-term illness that suddenly worsened. So these podcasts are dedicated to his memory and fueled by his spirit, while discovering connections between science, philosophy, and various religious ideals. (David was especially interested in the scientific possibilities of “Morphic Resonance” and “Akashic Field” theories.) We three continue, with David in mind, to explore what the teachings and actions of Buddha, Jesus, and Mohammed might mean today—as recorded by their followers and later generations, in various distinctive yet resonating ways. For further ideas and images see: www.cabjmblog.wordpress.com
Location:
United States
Description:
This podcast started when four friends at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte began meeting to learn about each other’s religions, sometimes while reading a common book—and found such discussions so interesting that they decided to record them. One member of the group, David Bashor, was a long-time Methodist (and a biology professor). Another, Mark Pizzato (a theatre professor), had grown up Roman Catholic but was gradually converting to Buddhism. Bill Chu (originally from China and a computer science professor) was more experienced in Buddhism, though also a convert to it. Mirsad Hadzikadic (originally from Bosnia and also a computer science professor) had been raised Muslim and recently increased his adherence to its principles. All four wanted to understand how they viewed Allah, God, or Ultimate Truth in similar and different ways. They started recording these podcast episodes in spring 2015 (with Mirsad leading on the technical side, also with the help of Mark Olson). Unfortunately, David Bashor died in August of that year, from a long-term illness that suddenly worsened. So these podcasts are dedicated to his memory and fueled by his spirit, while discovering connections between science, philosophy, and various religious ideals. (David was especially interested in the scientific possibilities of “Morphic Resonance” and “Akashic Field” theories.) We three continue, with David in mind, to explore what the teachings and actions of Buddha, Jesus, and Mohammed might mean today—as recorded by their followers and later generations, in various distinctive yet resonating ways. For further ideas and images see: www.cabjmblog.wordpress.com
Language:
English
Episodes
A Religion of Humanity
4/5/2019
Mirsad reflects on his recent campaign to become President of Bosnia and his current building of a new political party, regarding the violent history of religious conflicts in that country. Bill and Mark discuss with him the possibility of encouraging integrity, trust, and tolerance across religious differences--with reference to Buddhism (involving non-political "emptiness") and Protestantism (with the humanist emphasis on a personal reading of scripture), as well as the Bosnian ethnic...
Duration:00:47:18
Spirituality in a New Generation
1/4/2019
Luke and Peter Pizzato, sons of Mark, join with him, Bill, and Mirsad to discuss the three global religions in relation to moral philosophy, death metal music, meditation goals, and spiritual experiences. What do youth today imagine as an ideal spiritual world? Should parents give their offspring a firm religious background or encourage an open-minded mixing of traditional values through spiritual seeking and personal choices?
Duration:01:11:09
Sexuality and Gender
5/4/2018
Kent Brintnall, professor of Religious Studies at UNC-Charlotte, joins Bill, Mirsad, and Mark to discuss how religions interpret sexuality and shape gender identities. Is God or the Buddha figured as male to model spiritual transcendence--through a traditional fear of female (or transgendered) physical and communal powers? Do recent changes in patriarchal systems actually return to early developments initiated by Buddha, Jesus, or Mohammed?
Duration:01:00:04
Technology and Religion
4/13/2018
How do the religious communities and teachings that started with Buddha, Jesus, and Mohammed relate to the current use of mechanical devices and social media? Does technology help us to realize spiritual connections or distract us with virtual realities? Are we creating a computer "god" for religions of the future?
Duration:00:48:58
Existentialism and Astronomy
2/9/2018
Special guest Mike Corwin, an existentialist, physicist, and astronomer, tells about his belief in becoming, rather than being, about individual responsibility without God, and about the mysteries of the universe, from quantum entanglement to "negative energy." The discussion with Mirsad, Mark, and Bill compares these philosophical ideals and scientific wonders with religious doctrines of communal submission, divine judgment, and karmic reincarnation.
Duration:01:07:29
Ethics and Morality
12/8/2017
How do religious and secular ethics relate to moral intuitions and animal instincts? Bill, Mark, and Mirsad discuss the trajectories of human goodness or evil, reward or punishment, with the rival ethical systems of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and existential atheism--or their potential interplay today.
Duration:00:58:53
Creation Stories
11/10/2017
Mirsad, Bill, and Mark are joined by Jon Marks, Professor of Anthropology at UNC-Charlotte, to explore what is at stake in various creation stories, from science and the global religions--with a Museum of the Bible opening in Washington, DC, in November 2017, based on Evangelical Christian "creationism" (the belief in a literal truth to the 6-day creation story in Genesis), with Catholics reconciling biblical poetics and science, with Muslims believing in the Quran's creation story, and...
Duration:00:48:49
Bad Gurus
10/20/2017
Why do some priests, ministers, imams, monks, and gurus take advantage of the people who admire them, who believe they are wise teachers and good leaders? Do religious groups put even more pressure than other political systems on leaders who are idolized as perfect and then fall to temptations? Or are such wealth and sex scandals totally the fault of the bad guru, as a multiple betrayal of people's trust--physically, economically, and spiritually? Should the bad guru be forgiven and...
Duration:01:08:10
Historical Founders
8/18/2017
With their guest, Professor James Tabor of UNC-Charlotte, a specialist on the historical Jesus, we compare the people at the origins of Christianity, including St. Paul, Mary (the mother of Jesus), and Mary Magdalene, with the founders of Buddhism and Islam--regarding bodies, stories, and beliefs. What are researchers discovering about the "divine" figures in these religions and their historical (re)incarnation or resurrection?
Duration:00:57:07
Simulations
7/21/2017
Is our world a simulation created by superior beings? How have simulations of the real and supernatural increased through new technologies--in relation to the traditions that started with Buddha, Jesus, and Mohammed? Is computer modeling a new form of prophecy and Artificial Intelligence a potential for transcendent consciousness?
Duration:01:11:23
Religion and Nationalism
5/19/2017
Religious and national identities have helped people to build trust, cooperation, morality, and generosity--but have also led to conflicts between groups, many times in history. How have the religions that started with Jesus, Mohammed, and Buddha worked within or against national (or ethnic) identifications, especially in England, Bosnia, China, and the U.S.? In our increasingly networked, global cultures, can we transcend national conflicts by accepting the truth and goodness in various...
Duration:00:48:00
Paradoxes
3/3/2017
What are the self-contradictions in sacred texts and traditions as historical documents and divine teachings, deriving from the lives of Buddha, Jesus, and Mohammed? Are such paradoxes threatening to religious orthodoxies and righteous ideals--or valuable in opening the mind toward greater truths and tolerance of others' views?
Duration:00:54:17
Artificial Intelligence and Religion
2/10/2017
As A.I. evolves, through machine learning and creativity, will it gain human consciousness and a godlike power over us? Will computers become sentient beings and evoke our respect, or various emotions from us, like another soul? Will they offer us immortality or replace us with theirs? Bill, Mark, and Mirsad are joined by J D Elliott.
Duration:00:51:38
Free Will and Fate
12/9/2016
Mirsad, Bill, and Mark discuss how free will and fate relate to neuroscience, computer science, and religion. What is the self (or soul) that chooses? Is it conscious or subconscious? Does God or Allah know and control our fate, according to Christianity and Islam? If there is ultimately no god or self, according to Buddhism, then does karma produce our fate? Can we still have a choice in how to act, to be good or bad, if Allah, God, or karma is all-powerful? How does that relate also to...
Duration:01:14:17
Suffering and Sacrifice
9/2/2016
How are suffering and sacrifice related in the three major religions? Did the founders of those religions (and Abraham in Judaism) become models for sacrificial pain, and yet transcendent rewards, with regard to historical martyrs, current suicide-bombers, or those who respect life, both human and animal?
Duration:01:10:37
Science and Religion
7/29/2016
Mirsad, Bill, and Mark discuss how Buddhism corresponds more to modern physics than to evolutionary biology--and how that compares with Christianity and Islam, in their fundamentalist and liberal directions.
Duration:01:08:37
Afterlife?
5/6/2016
What ideas and images of the afterlife do we have, and of the soul continuing after death, through Buddhism, Christianity, or Islam--and our experiences of transcendence in this life? Bill Chu, Mark Pizzato, and Mirsad Hadzikadic with special guests: Elizabeth Von Briesen and Gizem Bacaksizlar.
Duration:01:04:35
Prayer
2/24/2016
How people pray in different religions? Why differences? Mark Pizzato, Bill Chu, Mirsad Hadzikadic, David Penchansky.
Duration:01:06:31