Art and religion may help us with life's mysteries

For AL.com Greg Garrison interviews Thomas Moore over the telephone before this weekend's program in Birmingham, Alabama: "'People are angry at the religion they grew up with': ex-monk turned bestselling author will lecture".

"Moore will be coming to Alabama for the first time in May as the featured speaker of the SPAFER lectures at First United Methodist Church of Birmingham, 518 19th St. North, on May 2, at 7 p.m. and May 3, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Southern Progressive Alliance for Exploring Religion and the Friends of Jung-South are co-sponsoring the lectures." 

Garrison writes:

"Most people have not had any education in the mysticism of their own religions," Moore said.

"The mystics provide the heart and soul of a religion." Moore has simply found other ways of tapping into mysticism.

"You can be an ordinary mystic, when you put together all the experiences of nature, and art," he said. "The separation of art and religion in our time is a symptom of the secularism of our time. They offer us a way to contemplate and mediate things that can't be explained."

He's not advocating leaving formal religion, but notes that's not the only path." 

For ticket information visit SPAFER.org.