I've been teaching full-time for 41 years at small colleges, and I can't imagine what it would mean for me or my colleagues to be armed with handguns or rifles instead of books and a thorough knowledge of our chosen disciplines. Jay Parini armbookchoose share on social
I regard Jesus, like the Buddha, as a figure with the power to shape our lives. Jay Parini buddhafigurejesus Change image and share on social
When Gore Vidal was coming up, there were three major channels, and he could count on a big audience when he debated someone like William F. Buckley on TV. Jay Parini audiencebigbuckley Change image and share on social
It's probably incorrect to say that Islam is 'a religion of peace,' as some politicians like to say. Overstatements like that don't clarify anything. Jay Parini clarifyincorrectislam Change image and share on social
A long-running argument exists over whether Christians and Muslims worship the same God. In my view, they certainly do. Jay Parini argumentchristianexist Change image and share on social
For no good reason, George W. Bush and the best and brightest he could muster, including the likes of Paul Bremer and Paul Wolfowitz, decided it made sense to attack Iraq. Jay Parini attackbremerbright Change image and share on social
I suspect that a huge amount of the anxiety and suffering that we see around can be closely traced to our wanton misuse of our resources. Just look at any garbage dump and see what is wasted. In a sense, we've wasted our souls. Jay Parini amountanxietyclosely share on social
The most dazzling aspect of 'Possession' is Ms. Byatt's canny invention of letters, poems and diaries from the 19th century. Jay Parini 19thaspectbyatt Change image and share on social
Obviously, you're trying to peel through 20 centuries of theology, speculations, church doctrine and storytelling. I'm trying to get back to the absolute basic story of who was Jesus, what did he say, what was he teaching, and what did he do. Jay Parini absolutebackbasic share on social
God is God, but he has various names in different languages, and each strand of monotheistic religion has multiple ways of describing the godhead. Jay Parini describegodgodhead Change image and share on social
