Jan 21st, 2005 · Where did the universe come from -- and where is it going? Some people find answers to such questions in scientific theories, while others look to religion for answers. We talk about whether there can be common ground between science and religion in the study of the physical sciences, including physics and astronomy.
Dec 31st, 2004 · NPR's Bob Mondello looks back at the films released in 2004, and finds a handful that prove to filmmakers that you can create films that deal with politics, memory and religion and not suffer at the box office.
Dec 13th, 2004 · Historian and theologian Arthur Green has long studied Jewish religion and culture. Author of many books, his latest is A Guide to the Zohar, an overview of modern studies of kabbalah's origins.
Nov 16th, 2004 · NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates examines Muhammad: The Last Prophet, a new animated film depicting the life of the prophet Muhammad. She speaks with Mark Pinsky, who writes about religion in popular culture, about how the film's vision of Islam could affect Muslim and non-Muslim audiences.
Sep 4th, 2004 · NPR's Scott Simon talks with congressmen Mark Souder and David Price about the role of religion in politics. They've both contributed essays to One Electorate Under God?: A Dialogue on Religion and American Politics.
Jul 20th, 2004 · In his new book, Why Lincoln Matters: Today More Than Ever, former New York governor Mario Cuomo examines the writings and speeches of one of America's most beloved presidents, Abraham Lincoln, on issues relevant to today's world, including pre-emptive war, taxes and religion in politics. Cuomo speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep.
Jul 9th, 2004 · Her latest book, Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas, is just out in paperback. It's about a religious text that is little known -- the secret Gospel of Thomas, rediscovered in Egypt in 1945. She will explain why it was suppressed by the church and kept out of the canon. Pagels has been called one of the world's most important writers and thinkers on religion and history. She won the National Book Award for her book, The Gnostic Gospels. Pagels is a professor at Princeton University. (Original airdate: June 4, 2003)
Jul 9th, 2004 · Ehrman is the Bowman and Gordon Gray professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina. His newest book is Lost Christianities: The Battle for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew. It chronicles the period before Christianity as we know it came to be, when people with conflicting ideas about the religion were fighting for prominence in the second and third centuries. Ehrman also edited a collection of the early non-canonical texts from the first centuries after Christ called Lost Scriptures: Books that Did Not Make It into the New Testament.