Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly is a production of THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET. Visit www.pbs.org/religionandethics for additional information. Show #1824 will be fed over PBS at 5:00 p.m. EST on February 13 (check local listings).
Church Economics Prize Contest – A Brooklyn church asks, what’s wrong with the economy? Members of the Bay Ridge United Methodist Church are offering a $33,000 prize to whoever can best explain why the U.S. economy has been so hard on so many. Jobs going overseas? Technology demanding unavailable skills? A few getting too rich? David Tereschuk reports on one congregation’s search for economic explanations everyone can understand.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks – Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, eminent scholar and author, retired after serving 22 years as the Chief Rabbi for the UK. He is teaching in the U.S. this year and leading a global religious response to religious violence. In an interview with anchor Bob Abernethy, Sacks says, “Religion causes violence whenever we confuse piety and power.” He believes that when groups seek power in the name of piety they do great harm. They injure God’s world.
Losar, Tibetan New Year – This coming week marks the new year, the year of the sheep, for the Chinese and many other Asian traditions. Tibetans call the holiday Losar. Tibetan Buddhist Tenzin Getso describes some of the special Losar rituals which help Tibetans leave the negative aspects of the old year behind in order to be spiritually prepared for the new one.
