2009-03-11T15:39:45Z tag:onfaith.washingtonpost.com,2010:/onfaith/faithbook/629 Copyright (c) 2009, WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive 2009-03-11T15:39:45Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2009-03-09:/onfaith/faithbook2009/03/how_have_i_found_god.html

I was asked by the Chaplain's Office to give a presentation next week for their series entitled "How Can I Find God?" I've known about this since late December. Since then, I've been thinking about what I can say, what personal anecdote I can share that's unique and original, and most importantly, a genuine answer to this timeless question. I've been struggling with it, needless to say. To be able to answer this question, I've...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Ani Nalbandian 2009-03-04T14:43:15Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2009-03-03:/onfaith/faithbook2009/03/one_year_later.html

March 5th marks the one-year anniversary of former UNC student body president Eve Carson's murder. A year ago we were all slowly singing the alma mater on the quad; a year ago we were leaving for spring break in confusion and grief; a year ago I wrote a blog, asking the question "Why?" and openly admitting it couldn't be answered....Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Erin Becker 2009-03-05T21:52:12Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2009-02-26:/onfaith/faithbook2009/02/fasting_and_ashes_another_look.html

Last year on Ash Wednesday, I recorded a few thoughts about the Holy Day, which, as a non-denominational Protestant, I view as something of an outsider. But a year later, on re-reading, I find some of my musings remain surprisingly timely, especially near the end. I'll save my meta-commentary for the conclusion:...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Hope Hodge 2009-02-25T16:44:51Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2009-02-25:/onfaith/faithbook2009/02/a_flexible_ideolog.html

Last week, I was convinced my life had fallen into place. Sitting in class, I listened to one of my professors lecture about the medieval Ottoman Empire. She was discussing how its success in expanding was due to adopting a flexible ideology which enabled it to absorb peoples of such starkly different ethno-lingual and religious backgrounds. To quote her words exactly, she said, "When you're ideological, it's hard to be flexible." While she was getting...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Ani Nalbandian 2009-02-18T14:11:48Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2009-02-15:/onfaith/faithbook2009/02/i_believe_-_in_israeli_culture.html

Sixty percent of the music in my iTunes library is Israeli. From time to time I'll listen to an American song, but the vast majority of my music listening takes place in Hebrew. I began collecting Israeli music during my senior year of high school when my aunt sent me an album by an Israeli rap duo called Subliminal and the Shadow. My collection gradually grew, and now every year when I am in Israel...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Shari Rabin 2009-02-13T13:49:45Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2009-02-12:/onfaith/faithbook2009/02/two_sides_of_the_same_coin.html

"I just couldn't identify with any group that tells everyone else they're going to hell." With that, our late-night dorm room futon musings ended abruptly. A friend who I respect very much refused to be pushed or prodded any further; her opinion of Christianity (or really, just a vocal subset of Christianity) would not change. The idea that belief in Jesus Christ is the exclusive path to salvation and the judgmental nature of humans assigning...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Erin Becker 2009-02-10T17:12:21Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2009-02-09:/onfaith/faithbook2009/02/a_moon_full_of_memories.html

After running some quick errands, I was headed back to my car in an unusually empty Lake Success Shopping Center parking lot. The weather in New York the past few days has been spring-like, a hopeful reminder that I can soon play tennis outdoors once again. As part of my rather extensive fitness routine, I park my car the longest distance from my destination store. Tonight was a great night to park inconveniently. The full...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Abed Z. Bhuyan 2009-01-26T20:57:50Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2009-01-26:/onfaith/faithbook2009/01/grant_me_wisdom.html

At some point in every day, I try to remember to say the prayer "I Confess in Faith" by the 12th Century Armenian saint, St. Nerses Shnorhali. Almost any Armenian will recognize the name of this saint, great mind and poet. I grew up near the Armenian seminary named for him. It was not until recently, however, that I read his rather short prayer and discovered the aura St. Nerses for myself....Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Ani Nalbandian 2009-01-26T13:59:55Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2009-01-24:/onfaith/faithbook2009/01/my_new_take_on_matthew_25.html

Before classes really get going, I decided it would be a good idea to squeeze in something I've been meaning to do for a while. I took the Safe Zone Ally training to become qualified as an ally to LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered) people, and soon I'll get a rainbow sticker to put outside my dorm room to let anyone who comes by know that they can talk to me openly about their sexuality....Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Erin Becker 2009-01-08T21:01:23Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2009-01-08:/onfaith/faithbook2009/01/i_just_got_back_from_the_holy.html

I just got back from the Holy Land and look forward to sharing with you some of my experiences. I must share one story first. While my parents were watching the news about Israel, wondering if I were in a city where a bomb had fallen that day, I got this story about my home town of Chicago: a synagogue was firebombed. Temple Sholom of Chicago -- where I became Bar Mitzvah, an adult according...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Michael Pomeranz 2009-01-07T19:04:24Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2009-01-07:/onfaith/faithbook2009/01/on_israel_in_gaza.html

I generally don't like blogging about the Middle East, but current events don't leave me much choice. I spent last weekend sitting around the TV in my friend's cramped New York City apartment watching constant chattering and theorizing and pontificating by pundits on CNN and Fox News and then discussing with the assembled congregation. A large number of my friends on Facebook have donated their statuses to "QassamCount: [x number] more Hamas rockets hit Israel...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Shari Rabin 2009-01-07T16:18:34Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2009-01-06:/onfaith/faithbook2009/01/gaza.html

The following is a reply to my 11th-grade students who, after being forced by their Global Studies teacher to research and properly understand the keffiyeh that many sport around their necks as a fashion statement, have paid attention to what is currently going on in Gaza. Dear students, First, I'd like to point out that most of your e-mail addresses are absolutely ridiculous. Second, thank you for taking the time out of your Christmas break...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Abed Z. Bhuyan 2009-01-05T16:43:51Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-12-31:/onfaith/faithbook2008/12/another_christmas_tradition.html

Every year at Christmas Eve service, the "old people" in my family tear up during "Silent Night," and every year I don't understand it. My family has been going to Calvary Episcopal in downtown Rochester, Minn., for a long time. My grandpa went there with his grandparents. Every Christmas Eve I drive up to Rochester with my parents and my sister and we brave the icy roads and bundle up in our pea coats and...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Erin Becker 2009-01-05T16:41:17Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-12-30:/onfaith/faithbook2008/12/peace_on_earth.html

In the weeks since Thanksgiving, we all must have heard those familiar Christmas carols on the radio at some point or other. In addition to reminding us of the religious significance of the Christmas season, they're to be treasured just as much for their reminder of the millennia-old, glorious ideal - that of peace on earth. One particular Christmas carol asks, "Peace on earth, can it be?" Taking into consideration the recent turmoil in the...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Ani Nalbandian 2008-12-25T18:42:10Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-12-24:/onfaith/faithbook2008/12/merry_christmas_from_yale.html

A Daily News column wonders why Jews are so afraid of Christmas. "I suppose I can understand - the holiday does have the word "Christ" right there in the name. And perhaps it used to carry some meaning you wouldn't want to associate yourself with as a member of the Chosen Tribe." I'm with the author (full disclosure: he's my roommate) in loving Christmas -- and not, since I disagree with his overt atheism, simply...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Michael Pomeranz