Religion & Spirituality

Former Episcopal Bishop of New York Paul Moore. Hs is known for his activism and concern for human rights. He was part of the Civil Rights Movement, and protests against the Vietnam War. As Bishop he brought the Church into dialogue with the poor and oppressed in New York. He's written his memoir, "Presences: A Bishop's Life in the City." (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

Jetsun Pema, sister of the Dalai Lama. She's written an autobiography about Tibet and her work there,"Tibet: My Story" (Element). In it she recounts life in Tibet before the Chinese occupation, exile from Tibet, and her work as the president of the Tibetan Children's Village, which encompasses over 11,000 Tibetan refugees in India. Pema also plays the role of the mother of the young Dalai Lama in the film "Seven Years in Tibet."

Richard Horsley and Neil Silberman. The two have collaborated on a book incorporating history, archaeology, and politics to contextualize the time of Jesus and the Apostle Paul. The book is "The Message and the Kingdom" (Grosset/Putnam). Richard Horsley is a professor of religion at The University of Massachusetts. Neil Silberman is the author of "The Hidden Scrolls."

Sister Cecelia Clegg, a Scottish Roman Catholic nun, works for peace in Northern Ireland by way of her project: "Moving Beyond Sectarianism," a workshop for Catholic and Protestant congregations to speak about their lives and their differences. In the three years she has lived and worked in Belfast, Sister Cecelia has been viewed as a British outsider to Irish Catholics as well as a Catholic outsider to Protestants.

Sister Wendy Beckett is a member of the Notre Dame order, a teaching order of nuns and a celebrity. In 1980 she began the serious study of art, and since has written a number of books on the subject and hosted the popular PBS series "Sister Wendy's Odyssey" and "Sister Wendy's Grand Tour." This week PBS begins airing her newest 10-part series, "Sister Wendy's Story of Painting." There's a companion book (published by DK Publishing)

Esterita "Cissie" Blumberg writes a monthly column for the Catskill/Hudson Jewish Star. She grew up in a hotel in the Catskills, and later owned and operated it with her husband. Her new book is "Remember the Catskills: Tales by a Recovering Hotelkeeper" (Purple Mountain Press)

Saul Friedlander is the author of "Nazi Germany and the Jews, Vol. 1: The Years of Persecution 1933-1939." He examines the period looking at how Hitler's "murderous rage" and ideologies, converged with internal political pressures, and attitudes of German and European societies to create the Holocaust. Friedlander was born in Prague and was seven when his parents hid him in a Catholic seminary in France where he took on a new identity. His parents died in the Holocaust. Friedland now teaches at Tel Aviv University and at UCLA.

Daniel Jonah Goldhagen is the author of the controversial book "Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust." He offers evidence that ordinary Germans knowingly cooperated in the Holocaust, that they were motivated by anti-Semitism, not by economic hardship, coercion, or psychological pressures, as usually put forth by historians. Goldhagen is Associate Professor of Government and Social Studies at Harvard University.

As a child in the sixties and seventies, Tate was a member of the Nation of Islam, and witnessed the struggles of blacks in a predominantly white America. In her autobiography, "Little X," she tracks the personal history of her family and draws on their everyday experiences as members of the Nation to bring new understanding to its traditions.

New York Times Reporter John F. Burns. He has followed the latest events of Afghanistan's 18-year-old civil war, concentrating on the rise to power of the Taliban, an Islamic religious movement. Burns examines the Taliban's effect on the war-torn country's laws and punishment, including stoning, amputations, and executions.

Theologian and author Rev. Peter J. Gomes. He has written the new book "The Good Book: Reading The Bible with Mind and Heart." Gomes is black and gay, and brings a unique and sometimes controversial interpretation to the Bible. He has been a minister at Harvard University's Memorial Church since 1974. Time Magazine called him "one of the seven best preachers in America."

Astronomer and Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Sagan died today at the age of 62. A spokesman for the Cancer Research Center says Sagan died from pneumonia after suffering from bone marrow disease for two years.

Since leaving the White House, Carter has become one of America's leading elder statesmen. He has led numerous peace delegations to many war stricken countries through the Carter Center which he founded in 1982. Carter has written eleven books, including the national bestseller, "Always a Reckoning." In his most recent book, "Living Faith," he shares personal experiences about how his religious faith has helped him through the most challenging times of his life. He demonstrates how people of all faiths can find common ground in serving God and one another.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "Fragments," the new memoir by Binjamin Wilkomirski about being a child of the Holocaust.

Rabbi Burton Visotzky teaches at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. Since 1987 he's been leading seminars on the Book of Genesis. The seminars gained a following among novelists, poets, editors, filmmakers, CEOs, and attorneys. The New York Times described the them as "the best conversations in New York City." His new book is called The Genesis of Ethics: How the Tormented Family of Genesis Leads Us to Moral Development.

Jo Ann Kay McNamara talks with Terry Gross about her book "Sisters In Arms: Catholic Nuns Through Two Millennia." It is published by Harvard University Press. McNamara is a Professor of History at Hunter College and at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

The journalist talks with Terry Gross about his new PBS 10-part series "Genesis: A Living Conversation." The series will premier Wednesday, Oct 16th on many PBS stations. It also has the companion book "Genesis: A Living Conversation." The TV show features writers, theologians and artists discussing the first book in the bible.

Wattleton headed the organization from 1978 to 1992. She was raised in a fundamentalist Christian family (her mother was a minister), and later studied to be a nurse. Her work as a public-health nurse exposed her to the hardship of women who tried to terminate their pregnancies in the days before legal abortion. Wattleton went on to be executive director of the local Planned Parenthood, and then president of Planned Parenthood nationally. Her new memoir is called "Life on the Line"

Bishop John Shelby Spong. In his newest book "Liberating the Gospels: Reading the Bible with Jewish Eyes" he reveals how Christians have misread the Gospels by ignoring the Jewish traditions which the New Testament grew out of. Spong has attracted controversy from the Christian community for his challenges of traditional views on women, sexual morality, and gays.