I didn't get the Doc Brown and De Lorean reference when I watched the movie. And I am, in fact, 23. Does this make me one of those dumb females who doesn't get good jokes?  I'm not sure, but I do know that I've only seen the original Back to the Future one time. And I'm pretty sure I was about 10.

 Also, speaking as someone who hasn't had a TV or cable for five years, knowledge of pop culture is NOT necessarily easy to acquire. I often get stuck in conversations about America's Next Top Model and Lost and have absolutely nothing to say and no way of following the conversation because I've never even seen commercials for these shows.

Not that Alison and Debbie in the movie are living without TV... but I want to make the point that knowledge of pop culture is certainly not a given.

...but in Corinth there is a fortified hill called Akrokorinth and it basically served as the citadel for the city of Corinth in times of danger throughout history.

 On the side of the hill, there is a cave called St. Paul's cave, and the local story goes that St. Paul hid there for several days. It's completely unmarked; not a true tourist destination at all. I climbed there with a friend one day, and almost died on the way back down. Frankly, it wasn't much of a religious experience at all (although I was happy to be alive), although there was some really awesome graffiti from the 1700s up there.

However, many a time I have stood at the very top of Akrokorinth where I could see the entire isthmus, the Saronic Gulf, and the Corinthian Gulf all at once. Breathing in the warm air, standing on a Byzantine or Frankish wall, and looking down on a land where so much history has taken place and so many have lived and died... THAT is my religious experience.

I often climbed Akrokorinth with my group of friends. And always always always there was at least ten minutes of complete silence when we reached the top. Without even trying or agreeing upon it beforehand. It was amazing.

 Laurel, aren't you going to share more about your Petra experience?

I feel that often belief in God is a very passive thing. Kids grow up believing in God and maybe don't think about who God is and what He wants for them. I think it takes a certain amount of action/thought on one's part to truly discover Him and build a relationship. I know for me it took a lot of belief-questioning and even some college atheism until I discovered my own faith. From my own experience, I also know that I didn't really start to pray until after I made those discoveries on my own. So of course college students will say, "Yes, I believe in God! Everyone does, and I always have, but why would I need to pray when I'm not at church with Mom and Dad?" At least that is how it seems to me.

 Also, in regards to the connection between an academic interest in religion and true faith: My freshman year of college I intended to major in religious studies, and my advisor told me not to and told me, "Most religious studies majors are just trying to figure out their own beliefs, and the Religious Studies department is not the place for that. Figure out your beliefs on your own, don't use your academic career to find faith."  I was angry at the time, but took his advice. And I know that in my case, at least, he was correct. So there is a nice little anecdote from my life which will add nothing to this discussion but may at least entertain some people...

Thank God, I haven't had to go to a shiva yet, but this was so informative and useful for a non-Jew like me. Thank you, Tamar!

If we don't recognize our knee jerk reactions as such, then we can never move beyond them using reason.

 I try, at least!

I read that too, and was just as disgusted with this Paul Kramer character.  How could you live with yourself knowing that you forced your friends to unknowingly break a religious observance?

 He clearly does NOT respect their faith. He doesn't have to believe, but he should always respect.