Art Museum Tours Build Understanding among People of Different Faiths

 By Nate Feldman

The Art of Interfaith Understanding is an ongoing series of tours of the Philadelphia Museum of Art led by Reverend John Hougen of Interfaith Philadelphia: https://www.interfaithphiladelphia.org

Initiated in 2013, members of diverse religious communities come together to study different works of art that have a spiritual theme.  The goals of the tour are to teach the traditions of other religions through the artwork of people of that faith, to engage the tour participants in discussion about how spirituality influenced different artists, and to assess the spiritual impact of the artworks on the participants. 

Reverend Hougen, a retired Lutheran pastor, believes art is an excellent vehicle for promoting interfaith dialogue as it encourages people to discuss faith and its influence on “aesthetically pleasing” items without getting too deep into doctrine.  “It’s a non-dogmatic way of introducing other people to different traditions,” he believes.

He also feels the artwork has the ability to raise curiosity among the tour members about other people’s traditions.  They want to understand more about the tradition that inspired the different kinds of art.

A unique activity members of the program get to take part in is when they split off and find something in the museum with a religious theme that catches their attention.  When they reconvene, they tell the others about what they found and what interested them the most.  They also engage in discussions about how what the artist has done relates to their own spiritual life. 

The tours are open to the general public several times throughout the year, and individuals or different congregations are invited to join. To register go to https://www.interfaithphiladelphia.org/art

Albert the Dinosaur Page 8

 

By Nate Feldman

So, Albert became friends with Brianna and Bruce.  They had their differences no doubt.  After all,  they were from different packs and had their own unique characteristics and interests.  But, they appreciated their differences and learned from each other.  And Albert realized he had finally found other dinosaurs he could truly identify with.  

Albert the Dinosaur Page 7

 

By Nate Feldman

Just before the fierce dinosaurs were about to throw Albert into the boiling pot, a female dinosaur, who likewise had blazing orange spikes, intervened and told everyone to back up.  

"My father wants everyone to leave this dinosaur alone," she told the crowd sternly.  

"Brianna, you know what we do to spiked dinosaurs around here," the leader of the pack said.  "You're just lucky because of who your father is," he added bitterly.

"Nevertheless," she responded quietly.  "You must let him go."

Albert stood silently as Brianna approached him.  "Come with me," she told him.  "They can't hurt you."

Albert, very shaken up by the whole experience, slowly followed her as they made their way through the pack of fierce dinosaurs.  

Once they got beyond the pack, Brianna explained that her father was one of the head figures of the pack.  "They are referred to as noble ones around these parts.  Because of that, the other dinosaurs here have to listen to me even if they don't want to.  It's how it works in our pack."

Despite his position, Brianna's father had married a spiked dinosaur, her mother, which had caused a great uproar in the community.  This explained Brianna's unique appearance.

She took Albert to an open area with no other dinosaurs around.  "Bruce is a friend of mine," Brianna told him.  "He warned me you might be in trouble."

Still feeling ashamed, Albert put his head down and said, "I guess I just wanted to believe I could make fierce dinosaurs like me.  I want to feel special."

"You are special," Brianna replied.  "And Bruce and I like you, and we're from this pack.  Maybe we're different from the others here, but you're different from the others in your pack as well, so we're actually kind of the same." 

Albert the Dinosaur Page 6

By Nate Feldman

The fierce dinosaurs led Albert to a giant black pot brimming with boiling water.  It was the largest pot he had ever seen in his life.  

Albert peaked at the inside of the massive pot and noticed there was nothing inside the water.

"What are we having for dinner tonight?" he curiously asked the leader of the pack.  

"Well," the leader responded with a sly smile, "I doubt you'll be having anything, but we'll be dining on broiled spiked dinosaur with an extra pair of legs on the side!" 

Albert, realizing who he was referring to, took a step back and turned to escape.  But, he quickly realized he was surrounded on all sides by fierce dinosaurs ready to devour him.

"I'm a friend of your pack," Albert pleaded.  "I'm not like the other spiked dinosaurs.  I like your pack!" 

"To us, you're all the same," the leader replied.  "You're all dinner."  

As Albert looked at the ravenous dinosaurs surrounding him on all sides, he remembered Bruce's warnings for him and felt guilt for ignoring him.  He thought of something he could say or do to change his fate, but nothing came to mind.  

 

Albert the Dinosaur Page 5

 

Cool Rex brought Albert to the other members of his pack.  They looked curiously at the unique looking dinosaur with blazing orange spikes and six legs.  

Albert with no apparent fear of the intimidating looking dinosaurs began showing off his knowledge about their pack.  The fierce dinosaurs nodded in approval.  Albert noticed this and felt delighted to know that he was winning them over.

The leader of the pack approached him.  "We haven't met a spiked dinosaur quite like you before."

"I guess I'm unique," Albert responded confidently.

"Indeed you are," the leader replied.  

The fierce dinosaurs looked at each other and smiled.  

"We're having a big dinner tonight," the leader informed Albert.  "We'd love to have you there with us for this splendid event.  You'll be our honored guest."  

Albert was ecstatic.  An honored guest!?  He couldn't believe he had made such an impression.  Especially with a pack of dinosaurs with such a horrible reputation for aggression.  And he'd never been an honored guest for anything in his life.  He was super excited.  

Albert the Dinosaur Page 4

 

By Nate Feldman

Albert appreciated Bruce's advice.  But, he had always fantasized of befriending a large, aggressive dinosaur.  No one from his own pack had ever done such a thing, and they certainly didn't have the courage to even if they wanted to.  He needed to do something extraordinary to prove that the dinosaurs he had grown up with were wrong about him.  And though Bruce was technically a member of the fierce dinosaur pack, he just wasn't intimidating enough for Albert's taste.

So, Albert continued his search for members of the pack.  He eventually came upon a massive dinosaur whose figure stood taller than the mountains on the horizon.  He had the sharpest teeth and claws Albert had ever seen.  He was the quintessential fierce dinosaur Albert had heard about for many years.  The giant checked Albert over carefully.  Albert carefully approached him and introduced himself.

"I'm Albert," he said a bit apprehensively.  

"I'm Cool Rex," the massive dinosaur responded confidently.  

Cool Rex offered to introduce Albert to the rest of the pack, and Albert excitedly followed him.  

Albert the Dinosaur Page 3

By Nate Feldman

Albert wandered into a hilly region, famous for being home to an especially large and fierce pack of dinosaurs.  He knew this group did not look fondly upon his pack, be he thought he might be able to convince them that he was unique from the others.  

While he was there, he encountered Bruce, a dinosaur with several highly unusual features.  Like Albert, he had blazing orange spikes, except these ones were on his head, not his back.  His nose was bright orange, his claws were a shiny yellow, and the tip of his tail was bright red.  

"You don't look like the dinosaurs from these parts," Albert told Bruce.  

"And you don't resemble the ones from your area either," Bruce responded looking at Albert's six legs.

"I'm not like the dinosaurs from my area," Albert conceded.  "I'd like to find a new pack to be a part of."

"Well," Bruce answered, "dinosaurs here are well-known for not liking outsiders.  Actually, they typically devour them if they can.  Especially ones from your area."

"I was hoping that was just a stereotype or exaggeration," Albert responded despondently.  "But, I can assure you I'm different from those other ones.  I think people from the pack here would appreciate that."

"In this community, that doesn't matter.  They see you as all the same," Bruce answered.  

"Well, you're not devouring me," Albert pointed out.  

"Yeah," Bruce answered.  "As you noticed, I too am different from the dinosaurs in my community."  

 

Albert the Dinosaur Page 2

 

By Nate Feldman

So, Albert traveled far and wide to find other dinosaurs that were similar to him.  Along the way, he found many packs of dinosaurs that didn't resemble his kind, so he hoped they would be more acceptant of him than his own community had been.  But, they only wanted to be around their own type of dinosaurs.

"I am not sure dinosaurs with spikes really get our ways," one long-necked dinosaur told him.  

Albert tried hard to convince dinosaurs like this that he was open-minded and could adjust, but it was to no avail, so he had to keep looking for someone who would accept him the way he was.

Albert the Dinosaur

 

By Nate Feldman

Albert was a strange dinosaur, or at least in his appearance he was.  The spikes on his back were a blazing orange, like giant flames leaping into the sky.  This was different from the bronze-colored spikes of his siblings.  But more unusual than that were his six legs.  

The other dinosaurs were never able to figure out how he was born in such a way.  Some blamed his mother for an improper diet.  Others felt a curse of some kind had been placed on his family.  These accusations brought great discomfort to them.

Albert tried his hardest to fit in with the other dinosaurs in his community.  He played in all of their games and activities and copied the way they spoke and ate.  But, it was never good enough.

The Zombie's House in the Woods

 By Nate Feldman

I am currently working on a story called The Zombie's House in the Woods, which I plan to turn into a short play and book.  It's about two hikers in the woods who encounter a creature with two dark eyes and no mouth.  Although it is menacing looking, it is quite friendly to them, which reinforces the point that we should try and establish relationships with others even if they don't quite resemble us as they may be at times closer to us than those who otherwise seem more similar.  

The play and the book should come out this fall.  

"House of One" to be the Home of Three Major Religions

By Nate Feldman

The recent flare-up in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a rise in Anti-Semitic attacks throughout the world has reinforced the need for inter-religious cooperation and understanding.  Fortunately, in Berlin, Germany a new religious center housing a synagogue, mosque, and church is being built to foster a cooperative environment between Jews, Muslims, and Christians.  Last week, leaders of all three faiths gathered in Berlin to lay the foundation stone of the new building.  Once completed, this center will serve as a model of co-existence for people of different religions throughout the world.

Tel Aviv on Fire: A film review

By Nate Feldman

Tel Aviv on Fire is a 2018 satirical drama by Palestinian director Sameh Zoabi about a Palestinian soap opera writer and the relationship he forms with the Israeli commander at the local checkpoint he must cross to go to work every day.  

Salaam Abass, an East Jerusalem Palestinian, has begun working for his uncle, a soap opera producer based in Ramallah, on his TV show "Tel Aviv on Fire."  The show revolves around a Palestinian woman prior to the 1967 Six Day's War being sent on a mission by Palestinian fighters to get top secret information from an Israeli general.  Salaam is there to help with the character's Hebrew, but he is eventually promoted to full-time writer.  The only problem is he has no writing experience, so he begins consulting Assi Tzur, the commanding officer at the checkpoint Salaam crosses through to get from Jerusalem to Ramallah and back on a daily basis, for ideas with his script.  Assi offers his assistance in return for Salaam bringing him the best hummus possible.  This begins a bizarre, often humorous relationship between the Palestinian soap opera writer and an Israeli soldier controlling his movements.  Assi, whose wife is a devoted fan of the show, insists the Palestinian spy in the story fall in love and marry the Israeli general.  Salaam, however, realizes such a plotline would offend the Palestinian backers and audience of the story.  But Assi is willing to do everything possible to make sure the story turns out as he envisions.  

Tel Aviv on Fire is an incredible movie which remarkably gives insights on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict while remaining humorous and depicting characters from both sides of the conflict in a sympathetic light.  The film itself is a model of co-existence with well-accomplished Palestinian and Israeli actors working together.  The movie, both in the fictional and real world, shows that while the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict may be difficult to resolve, little bits of coexistence and peace are already there.  

Ghampani: A film review

By Nate Feldman

Ghampani is a 2017 Nepali film about two villagers from different castes and ethnic backgrounds falling in love and the turmoil that this creates between their families.  Phurba, a local school teacher from a Tamang family, is in love with Tara, a daughter of a local Brahmin with significant standing in the village, who has been away studying in the capitol city of Kathmandu.  When she returns to the village, Phurba is there to walk her from the bus station to her home, showing that they have been in love for a while.  Their families have been close since they were young children, and their fathers still regularly socialize over chess matches.  However, the idea that these two would fall in love has never really crossed the minds of either family, so they have kept their romance a secret.  

Things are complicated by the arrival of Kamal, a new and extremely mischievous police inspector, in town, who has interest in Tara and persuades her father to arrange a marriage between them.  Phurba and Tara want to avoid this at all costs, but they do so at the risk of alienating their families from them.  Kamal, aware of Phurba's secret relationship with Tara, taunts him about his plans to marry Tara.  Things boil over when at a village celebration for the local school, Phurba assaults the police inspector after seeing him act inappropriately around Tara.  Phurba, now wanted by the police, and Tara  make a choice to run away from the village together and get married.  But, can their love overcome the societal forces around them?

This film beautifully shows the life of villagers in rural Nepal and gives the viewer a deep appreciation for the different cultures and traditions among people there.  It also shows the challenges of people in a mutli-ethnic society co-existing despite different values.  Anyone who is interested in learning about Nepali culture and seeing a charming love story that has both beautiful love scenes as well as a lot of humor will definitely enjoy this film.