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Ethics and Religion Talk: Can My Car be Cursed?

Submitted 04-15-2019 under OPINION

David asks, “Twice in three months, my car was hit in a parking lot. The first time, I was in the car. Little bump, $600 damage, but I got the insurance info of the driver. Second time, I wasn’t in the car. Came out and found a dent. No...

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Ethics and Religion Talk: What Do You Think of Hospice?

Submitted 04-08-2019 under OPINION

I received a question recently by email. Upon thanking the sender, I received an auto-response that the owner of the email had died … five years ago! I wish the story had ended here, mystery unsolved, so I could imagine that this column has...

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William Shatner connects at Star Trek II screening

Submitted 04-06-2019 under OPINION

On Friday, April 5th, a Starfleet starship's worth of people beamed onto DeVos Performance Hall, some in uniform. One woman, waiting in line for a drink, turned to her companion and said, "See? I could have worn mine." The evening...

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Ethics and Religion Talk - Afraid of Death

Submitted 04-01-2019 under OPINION

A question submitted to an interfaith panel on approaches to hospice care: If we believe in heaven, why are we so afraid of dying? The Reverend Colleen Squires, minister at All Souls Community Church of West Michigan, a Unitarian Universalist...

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Ethics and Religion Talk: Communication with the Dead

Submitted 03-25-2019 under OPINION

A question submitted to an interfaith panel on approaches to hospice care: How do your faiths view communications with deceased loved ones? Is this not encouraged or not even possible? The Reverend Colleen Squires, minister at All Souls...

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Visions and Revisions at the GRAM

Submitted 03-18-2019 under OPINION

Public art shapes the character of a place. The Calder stabile provoked a commotion of opinion when it was installed in 1969. Was it art? Was it a waste of money? Letters to the editor, pro and con, poured into The Grand Rapids Press for months. The...

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Ethics and Religion Talk: What is a Religious Lifestyle?

Submitted 03-18-2019 under OPINION

Jim A. writes: While sitting in church this week I pondered the thought, what does it mean to live a Christian lifestyle as my wife and I consider we do? My following thought was how would this be different from living a Jewish lifestyle, a Muslim...

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Ethics and Religion Talk: Is There a Stigma about Dying?, part 2

Submitted 03-11-2019 under OPINION

Two weeks ago, I shared the Christian responses. This week, I’m sharing the Jewish, Hindu, Islamic, and Unitarian responses. The Reverend Colleen Squires, minister at All Souls Community Church of West Michigan, a Unitarian Universalist...

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Ethics and Religion Talk: What Should I Do for Lent?

Submitted 03-04-2019 under OPINION

Editor’s note: Part two of the responses to the question on the stigma of dying will appear next week, so we can answer this question about Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, this coming March 6. For those unfamiliar with Lent, it is a...

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Ethics and Religion Talk: Is There a Stigma about Dying?, part 1

Submitted 02-25-2019 under OPINION

This week, I’ll share the Christian responses. Father Michael Nasser, who writes from an Eastern Christian perspective and is Pastor of St. Nicholas Orthodox Christian Church, responds: “Orthodox Christians do not believe that God...

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