For almost two decades, the Times Talk has facilitated community-wide discussions, this week’s topic tackles faith and was led by Nathan Bedsole, assistant professor of rhetoric and coach of the speech and debate team. Times Talk is an event open to everyone every Wednesday at noon in Russell Library.

“What I get out of every Times Talk and I hope others do, is new understanding, new insights and new questions about that week’s topic,” said Janet Hoffman, professor of rhetoric and host of the Times Talk. 

Participants read or listen to a New York Times article chosen by a speaker, who leads a discussion on the topic afterward.

This week’s chosen article is “David Brooks: I Found Faith in a Crowded Subway Car.”

In the article, Brooks discusses how half his life was spent going to Synagogs and churches. He did not feel attached to either religion as he did not believe in a god.

Brooks spent 50 years of his life as an agnostic.

“I thought it was all about belief,” Brooks said. “You had to believe that certain things are true, that God really does exist, that the stories in the Bible are true. And so I was looking for books or arguments or something that would rationally convince me that there was indeed a God.” 

Brooks then describes how he starts to come to terms with his religion by visualizing the souls of everyone around him in a crowded subway car. He says becoming religious happened slowly. Brook compares loving God to worshipping generosity itself and strongly connects religion and spirituality with the ordinary and day-to-day.

The pros and cons of the article were discussed in the room, with people being given the power to ask their own questions for discussion. 

Bedsole chose the article because he likes other works by Brooks, and he liked that it was an audio piece. Bedsole also liked the message of finding real meaning and joy in life from the article.

“Communication is not a communion, it’s a dissemination,” Bedsole said.  

People discussed finding faith, how they can relate the mundane to the spiritual and the ethics of religions. 

“I believe I was one of the few non-Christians in the room, and I’ll be honest, I felt a little frightened at first,” said Diana Cazacu, a junior philosophy and art major. “I was worried how my contributions would be taken and how my identity would be perceived as a visibly queer person.” 

Cazacu went on to explain that Christians are far from hateful, but that they have had experiences in the past that put them on guard. 

“But I had a wonderful time having a much-needed conversation about faith,” Cazacu said. “I’m happy I could be there to provide a non-Christian contribution that some people were curious about, while also listening to various Christian perspectives.” 

Times Talk participants discussed philosophers, where the mundane meets the holy and how in waiting for the return of the sacred we can create heaven on earth. Participants discussed their own religious experiences, or lack of, and their opinions on how religion affects us. 

Participants continued talking long after the Times Talk ended about their relationship with God, and how religion affected everyone differently.

“Overall, the Times Talk was so rich and complex that 50 minutes simply wasn’t enough,” Cazacu said. “I hope that future talks may explore similar ideas so that we may continue to expand upon the complex discussion of faith.”

Bedsole says he doesn’t wish anyone learns anything, he just hopes he provided a little “jiggling.”

This Times Talk had many staying over 30 minutes after the talk had ended to continue discussions.