Krista Tippett Interview

In light of our recent class discussions regarding Christian perspectives on Judaism, the Law, Covenants, etc., I thought I would share the following down and dirty summary of Eboo Patel’s interview of Krista Tippett at Fourth Prespiterian last week. Patel is Executive Director of the Interfaith Youth Core. Tippett is anchorwoman for Speaking of Faith, which can be heard Sundays at 7 a.m. on Chicago Public Radio at 91.5 WBEZ. [After the on-stage interview I met with her personally to gush over her contributions to civil discourse and enlightenment.]

You might imagine what kind of challenge it was to create a show about religion for public radio. Part of the fuel for this program was gross misunderstanding about the spirituality of others, particularly Muslims, she said.

The diverse group of past guests on SOF includes Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, author Karen Armstrong, and spiritual leader Eckhart Tolle.

Tippett noted that news traditionally is an account of what goes wrong in the world (what is unexpected) but SOF is about nurishig and edifying. She specializes in the spiritual perspective of people within a theological tradition. She uses a gentle hand and elicits amazing results.

Tippett grew up with a Southern Baptist preacher for a father but noticed a difference between what he said on the pulpit and how he lived his life. She came to understand that spirituality is bigger than any one form of expression, e.g., scripture. During a period of spiritual indifference while working as a diplomat, Tippett became more attentive to the tension between life and death, knowledge and integrity, etc. She returned to school for a divinity degree. She is particularly interested in the work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Tippett believes this generation is particularly interested in authenticity. She finds and believes theology can be intellectually “thrilling.”

Voices like Falwell and Robertson have been loud, and NPR programmers were afraid to discuss faith. Tippett argued for a “public theology” discussion. So, SOF is about how faith informs daily life, not about religion per se. She is big on what she calls “armature theologians,” taking the word “amature” from the root “lover.”

As with pastoral counseling, Tippett likes to create “quiet inviting spaces.” She spoke of questions emerging naturally from the discussion as a product of compassionate curiosity. She noted how important it is to understand how different faiths find expression. For example, she said Islam is a “lived” faith that is not easily quoted from scripture. This means that understanding it requires watching how a Muslim lives their life, not what they read, adding that Muslims are as diverse as Christians. (Just to clarify, Tippett is a Christian-like person while the interviewer, Patel, is Muslim.)

She mentioned “reframing an issue” as a way to gain new perspective, again much like a counseling technique, only the goal is to inform the interviewer, not change the interviewee.

As you can imagine, ideas came fast and furious at an event like this, so here is a list of some themes that caught my attention during the interview: Importance of not demonizing an entire group for the extreme views of a few; hatred not a Christian value; “More important to be right in the heart than in the head”; science v religion not a valid debate; religion, spirit and faith in constant state of fluid interplay; we tend to look for spirituality (God) in times of crisis but we are vulnerable all the time and could find a greater role for spirituality if we lowered our defenses; importance of exercising compassion toward the “religious other,” whether of our own faith or a different faith; importance of meeting in a “human place” to discuss theology; virtue of patience as spiritual change is slow; money as embodiment of human endeavor, and the relationship between money and religion; importance of reference for the mystery of life; importance of looking for hope (not optimism but hope); faith is not just a “head thing” but a full connection through mind, body and spirit (somatic spirituality should be considered); importance of experiencing our selves as creatures and not as abstractions.