Spiritual Envy: Michael Krasny on Losing Faith

Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2010/10/20/Michael_Krasnys_Spiritual_Envy_An_Agnostics_Quest

Michael Krasny, host of KQED's award-winning radio show "Forum," explains what led him to write his new book, Spiritual Envy: An Agnostic's Quest. Recalling the comfort of his unwavering childhood faith in the face of physical abuse, Krasny traces his later agnosticism to his intellectual pursuits.

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Unlike recent authors who emphatically say No! or Yes! to God, Michael Krasny joins the millions who know they don't know. As a radio host, college professor, and literary scholar, he has spent decades leading conversations on every imaginable topic. He has discussed life's most important questions with the foremost thinkers in virtually every discipline. And yet answers to some questions -- the big, three-o'clock-in-the-morning questions -- elude him. Despite this, Krasny does not discount belief systems or ridicule faith. Instead, he seeks. He explores morality, eternal life, why we do good, and why evil sometimes triumphs, and his quest is informed by artists, scientists, world events, and even films. Personal and universal, timely and timeless, Spiritual Envy is a deeply wise yet warmly welcoming conversation, an invitation to ask one's own questions -- no matter how inconclusive the answers.

Michael Krasny, PhD, hosts the nation's most listened to locally produced public radio talk show, Forum with Michael Krasny. Forum is heard weekdays on KQED-FM in San Francisco, an affiliate of National Public Radio, as well as on Sirius-XM Satellite Radio. An award-winning broadcaster who has interviewed many of the great cultural icons of our era, he is the author of Off Mike: A Memoir of Talk Radio and Literary Life (Stanford University Press) and coauthor of Sound Ideas (McGraw-Hill). Krasny is also an English professor at San Francisco State University. - Commonwealth Club of California

Michael Krasny, Ph.D., is host of KQED's award-winning Forum, a news and public affairs program that concentrates on the arts, culture, health, business and technology.

Before coming to KQED Public Radio in 1993, Dr. Krasny hosted a night-time talk program for KGO Radio and co-anchored the weekly KGO television show Nightfocus. He hosted Bay TV's Take Issue, a nightly news analysis show, programs for KQED Public Televison, KRON television and National Public Radio, and did news commentary for KTVU television.

Since 1970 he has been a professor of English at San Francisco State University and is a widely published scholar and critic as well as a former regular contributor to Mother Jones magazine and a fiction writer. He has also worked widely as a facilitator and host in the corporate sector and as moderator for a host of major non-profit events.

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[rocknrose99]

the answer for me is that in the after life God will judge us and everything will be redeemed

[danesters]

I am one to have faith, one to believe,but I am also one to know that if I was born In India I OBVIOUSLY would not be the same religion I am today.And for that I think we can all learn something

Not only about faith but about coming together as one.We don't all have to have the same views,nor are you right or anyone else.It is clear that you,me,and everyone else could have different views based on where we grew up.Its not about who's right,its about WHATS RIGHT.And treating others well is right

[ScotlandMy]

I'm sorry, but you don't make any sense. I'm glad we live in a diverse society. I don't like nor do I respect fundamentalist individuals pushing their views on others who are content to live as they live, to question the meaning of life, and to challenge those who are sure they have the truth. I prefer to get along with people, so I will just wish you well and say goodnight. : )

[wormite]

@ScotlandMy It is sad that you would think that way, all I am trying is to use my own experience to show that atheism has its holes and traps, and in a lot of cases bigger than other beliefs, it is just not as good as you imagine. I said so because I came from an atheist country. I do not wish to change anyone, but I do want to warn against the wrong doings and the horrible results. If I did something good to cause blaming on myself, I'll live with it. As long as it is beneficial to you.

[ScotlandMy]

@wormite - Who named you "anointed" to set everyone straight on this board?

You keep responding to individuals telling them where they are in error in their lives/outlook. Your comments don't provide any real wisdom. You can' t explain anything, really.

[AdamdeMalyns]

@wormite "The other people becomes pessimistic and starts to deny God's beauty, grace and mercy, but blames God for what happened."

Perhaps people do blame God, but I've never seen it. I think you're just confused. What philosophers and theologians call "the problem of evil" is an old and well-recognized problem. It's not about blaming God; it's about recognizing that there are things in the world that one would not expect if there were an all-powerful, loving God.

[wormite]

@retepvosnul LOL it is interesting for an archaeologist to be having such an attitude. I am not trying to anger you in anyway, and I apologize if you think so. But it is the truth that we as human beings have something in us that eventually can base our cruel behaviors on all good reasons. And it is shown in history again and again. Oftentimes bad things started with a good purposes. Even for Starlin/Hitler's case.

[wormite]

@retepvosnul I hope I can be clearer here, but I have always been arguing about the God(s) the religions believe in, more specifically, the biblical God. And I hope you realize that by denying such a God's existence, you are creating your own understanding of this biblical God. Even if you are talking about Abrahamic religions, they are the same God from old testament. I just checked, sorry for the mistake, Abrahamic 50%, 70% is for all religions.

[retepvosnul]

@wormite I do archaeology, what do you think ? Don't fucking lecture me about history. You made a stupid comment, so leave it at that.

[wormite]

@retepvosnul If you think I personally hate you therefore I would be discussing all these with you. What can I say, hopefully I am not that limited and obsessed with attacking someone. In that case it would not help you to discuss with me. I am not saying all atheists are bad people, or, all believers are good and perfect. Please understand that in every belief, people can somehow twist a good thing into cruelty. This is a "fact of matter" if u read history. No one is better in this.