As my regular readers know, I often promote interfaith dialogue and similar connections as a way toward reducing the tensions in the world that are caused by ignorance, prejudice and fear.
And, thus, I'm delighted to see new efforts toward this kind of understanding.
Which is why today I'm introducing you to a new online magazine called The Interfaith Observer.
As its opening page notes with considerable (maybe even too much) optimism:
"In spite of the daily news, the great good news is that people everywhere, in fact, are reaching out. A thousand interreligious flowers and more are blooming across the globe. No one organized, planned or even predicted this surging proliferation of activity. It seems to be a natural human response when the races, religions, and cultures of the world interact freely with one another, face-to-face, on a daily basis."
You can read about the group that is producing TIO, as it's known for short, at the "Who We Are" page on its site.
So have a look at TIO's initial Sept. 15 issue and see what you think. I know I'll look forward to the section in each issue on "interfaith news," a roundup of events and developments in this field.
And if you know people who do interfaith work, make sure they know about this new effort.
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COMFORT FOR A MEGACHURCH?
Rob Bell, whose recent book questioning hell stirred up much of the evangelical branch of Christianity in the U.S., told his congregation, which he's leaving, that they'll do fine without him in the pulpit. That's one of the issues this era of rock star preachers and megachurches raises -- is it about the preachers or is it about Jesus and Christianity? Well, I'm afraid in our consumerist culture it's not always the latter. Sigh.
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