San Antonio College Library

How could Bud Welch, whose daughter died in the Oklahoma City bombing, forgive Timothy McVeigh? How did the Reverend Walter Everett move beyond his desire for revenge against the man who murdered his son? In this program, these and other remarkable individuals-people who in picking up the pieces of their shattered lives have triumphed over hate-share the details of their long, painful, and deeply personal journeys from shock and the desire for retribution...

Atonement, penance, and absolution are beliefs that reside at the core of the world's major religions. Have the practices of contrition and restitution become relics of the past, or are they still viable today as opportunities for spiritual cleansing, healing, and rebirth? In this program, The God Squad's Rabbi Marc Gellman and Monsignor Thomas Hartman; Dr. Abdulaziz Sachedina, of the Organization for Islamic Learning; Sister Helen Prejean, author...

This program examines the surprisingly rapid growth of Islam in the heart of America's Bible Belt, a predominantly fundamentalist Christian locale. Yet for Muslims living in Appalachia, the daily challenge lies not so much in acceptance by their neighbors as with practicing their religion in a country whose overall culture is so often at odds with their own beliefs. Interviews with refugees living in the region and with experts in American Islam reveal...

This controversial program highlights the political initiatives taken by Brazil's top two religious entities: Catholics and evangelical Protestants. It argues that the Roman Catholic Church has always been fused with the nation's identity, from statues of Christ in Rio de Janeiro to mark the first centenary of Brazil's independence to the thousands of Brazilian flags waved during morning mass at the Cathedral of Aparecida. Yet the Church has seemed...

Religious fundamentalism underpins some of the world's most intractable political problems as members of fundamentalist groups seek to influence both domestic and international policy. After identifying general hallmarks of fundamentalist belief, this program places fundamentalist movements within the Christian, Jewish, Islamic, and Hindu religions into their cultural and historical contexts. Movements that are examined include the dispensationalist...

America's history has been repeatedly marked by debate over how the Bible applies or does not apply to social and scientific issues. Even strictly within the realm of religion, conservatives and liberals are divided about the authority and meaning of the Bible. This program examines Bible-related points of polarization and explains how different readings can coexist and even enrich each other. Topics include the place of the Bible in American culture,...

The separation of church and state represents one of the most fundamental principles of American democracy. While some contend that the United States needs to return to its roots as a "Christian nation," others point out that the Founding Fathers crafted a system specifically designed to guard against any form of state-sanctioned religion. After reviewing the substance of the debates that took place during the Constitutional conventions, this program...

Filmed in Istanbul and Oslo, this artistic documentary by Turkish/Norwegian filmmaker Nefise Ozkal Lorentzen openly explores what it is like to be both gay and Muslim. Through the interrelated stories of a gay rights activist, a gay imam, drag artists, and others, Gender Me gently denounces homophobia in general, encourages discourse and engagement within Islam as a positive societal approach to coming to terms with sexual otherness, and seeks to...

Is there a crisis of childhood caused by the consumer society and the mass media? "There is impatience in our culture for letting children be children," says Archbishop Rowan Williams, who cites lack of in-depth conversations between parents and children as the main cause for their vulnerability to advertising tactics. In this intriguing program, Archbishop Williams argues with children's author Philip Pullman about the theme of militant moral atheism...

Using nightmare images from America's past-the noose, the lynching tree, and other emblems of cruelty-Dr. James Cone sheds light on the lingering presence of hatred and terror in our national consciousness. Cone, a Union Theological Seminary professor and author of the highly acclaimed God of the Oppressed, talks with Bill Moyers about the meaning of these and other symbols.