Ep. 157 Panel: Us vs Them

An in-person discussion on maintaining religiosity without isolating those of other faiths. Host Steven Kapp Perry talks with Dr. Trevan Hatch, Pritha Lal, Maysa Kergaye, and Luke Miller. Dr. Trevan Hatch is the Anthropology, Ancient Near East, Middle East, and Religious Studies specialist at the Lee Library at Brigham Young University. He is also an adjunct instructor in the Department of Ancient Scripture. Trevan has a MA and two doctoral degrees (soon to complete the second PHD) in fields related to the Bible, Jewish studies, and religious studies. Trevan is the author of "A Stranger in Jerusalem: Seeing Jesus as a Jew", and he coedited with Leonard Greenspoon (Jewish studies chair at Creighton University) the volume, "The Learning of the Jews: What Latter-day Saints can Learn from Jewish Religious Experience". Pritha Lal is first a mom. She is also a homemaker by choice, a systems thinker by profession, a writer out of habit, a podcaster out of the pandemic, and is currently pursuing a certification towards becoming a life coach. She has lived in Springville, Utah for over two decades. Even though she is a huge admirer of Rumi, and aspires to live her life following the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Philosophy of Vedanta, for all practical purposes, she follows these wise words of Piglet, from Winnie the Pooh: "The things that make me different are the things that make me, me." Maysa Kergaye has been part of the Salt Lake community for the past 30 years. She is a mother of four, and grandma to two, and taught math at the Salt Lake Community College for 15 years. She discovered Zumba and has been teaching it for the past 12 years at many locations. She is well traveled and speaks many languages but most proficient is Arabic, French, and most of all English. She is active on the interfaith council as well as managing and running the Islamic Speakers bureau. She volunteers her time at the women's prison, Sunday school, and helping the local refugees. "I love teaching Zumba but I always have to warn people that it can be addictive." But that is one addiction she doesn't mind having in her life. Luke Miller is pastor at Living Water Mennonite Church & Christian Ministry in Provo, UT.