Hate Crimes in Amish Country, A Buddhist Solution to Drug Addiction, and More

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The Begholz Barbers, Refusing to ‘Turn the Other Cheek’
In a series of dark autumn nights in 2011, a radical group of Amish men and women forcibly entered the homes of their families and friends, held them down, and shaved their beards and hair. It was ruled a religious hate crime, but judges overturned that decision at the end of August, saying that this was a human drama, not a religious one.Pictured to the left: A victim of the beard-cutting attacks, wearing a black hat on the right. This photo was taken by a perpetrator in the Berholz group a few moments before they ambushed and attacked him.

Emma Green, religion writer for The Atlantic and author of the article, Violence Among the Amish
Donald Kraybill, author of Renegade Amish: Beard Cutting, Hate Crimes, and the Trial of the Bergholz Barbers

Bergholz preacher Johnny Mullet attacking Bishop Raymond Hershberger in a late-night attack at Hershberger’s farm in Holmes County Ohio. This was taken by members of Bergholz and used as evidence at their trial.

Sean Pathasema | Wikimedia Commons
Breaking Addiction, Buddhism-Style October 16, 2014
The Buddha taught that the cause of suffering is “uncontrollable thirst or repetitive craving”– which makes a whole lot of sense to people waging their own battles with food, drugs and alcohol. Noah Levine, a former heroin addict and practicing Buddhist, share his non-theistic approach to addiction recovery.Pictured: A depiction of the Tibetan Wheel of Life, which represents the cyclic suffering humans endure and must overcome to attain enlightenment.

Noah Levine, author of Refuge Recovery: A Buddhist Path to Recovering from Addiction

hat we hear about Syria today is grim: ISIS is advancing, the death toll is rising, refugees are fleeing. So today we’re going to recall the Syria that came before all that. Historically, it’s been a deeply spiritual country, full of Sufi Muslims and Orthodox Christians, whose songs and prayers represent some of the most beautiful examples of religious music in the world. Jason Hamacher recorded some of these sounds, just months before the civil war erupted.Jason Hamacher, producer of Nawa – Ancient Sufi Invocations and Forgotten Songs from Aleppo

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