Getting to the Heart of Interfaith


Book Description

A deeply personal journey to interfaith collaboration that offers hope for an inclusive and healing way of being together in the world. Too often religion seems to fuel more hatred than love, more conflict than collaboration. Interfaith Talk Radio's "interfaith amigos"--a pastor, a rabbi and an Imam--provide a rich understanding of the road to interfaith collaboration by sharing their stories, challenges and the inner spiritual work necessary to go beyond tolerance to a vital, inclusive spirituality. From their deep commitment and lived experience, they present ways we can work together to transcend the differences that have divided us historically. Together they explore: The five stages of the interfaith journey The power of our stories The core of our traditions The promises and problems of our traditions New dimensions of spiritual identity And much more Along with inspiring insights and encouragement for tapping into the promise of interfaith dialogue, they provide practical actions, additional readings and discussion questions to help you embody their revolutionary spirit of healing.




Getting to Heart of Interfaith


Book Description

A deeply personal journey to interfaith collaboration that offers hope for an inclusive and healing way of being together in the world. Too often religion seems to fuel more hatred than love, more conflict than collaboration. Interfaith Talk Radios interfaith amigosa pastor, a rabbi and an Imamprovide a rich understanding of the road to interfaith collaboration by sharing their stories, challenges, and the inner spiritual work necessary to go beyond tolerance to a vital, inclusive spirituality. From their deep commitment and lived experience, they present ways we can work together to transcend the differences that have divided us historically. Together they explore: The five stages of the interfaith journey The power of our stories The core of our traditions The promises and problems of our traditions New dimensions of spiritual identity And much more Along with inspiring insights and encouragement for tapping into the promise of interfaith dialogue, they provide practical actions, additional readings and discussion questions to help you embody their revolutionary spirit of healing.




Religion Gone Astray


Book Description

Welcome to the deeper dimensions of interfaith dialogue--exploring that which divides us personally, spiritually and institutionally. "We believe that interfaith dialogue holds the key to a healing that calls us back to purpose and to meaning. We have risked confronting aspects of our traditions usually hidden, and the consequences have been deeply life-affirming. We risk becoming vulnerable as we share awkward and even unacceptable texts and interpretations, but it is this very vulnerability that allows our dialogue to move forward." --from the Introduction Expanding on the conversation started with their very successful first book, the Interfaith Amigos--a pastor, a rabbi and an imam--probe more deeply into the problem aspects of our religious institutions to provide a profound understanding of the nature of what divides us. They identify four common problem areas in the Abrahamic faiths: Exclusivity Staking Claim to a One and Only Truth Violence Justifying Brutality in the Name of Faith Inequality of Men and Women The Patriarchal Stranglehold on Power Homophobia A Denial of Legitimacy They explore the origins of these issues and the ways critics use these beliefs as divisive weapons. And they present ways we can use these vulnerabilities to open doors for the collaboration required to address our common issues, more profound personal relationships, and true interfaith healing.




Joining Hands and Hearts


Book Description

So you're getting married! The wedding is the most gloriously celebrated of life's rites of passage. Today couples of all faiths, colors, and cultures are choosing an interfaith ceremony for its spiritually inclusive and personal approach. It is a way of rejoicing in our differences and celebrating our commonality in an atmosphere of mutual love and respect. If yours is an interfaith, intercultural, or interracial union, then you have already embraced a love that knows no boundaries. What could be more beautiful? But now that it's time to make a public statement to the world, you may suddenly be filled with questions: How do we make sure that our ceremony is a reflection of our love and our relationship? How do we remain true to ourselves and still make our families happy? How can we create a wedding ceremony that merges our religious, spiritual, cultural, and personal beliefs? Can we do this without offending or alienating anyone? Who will officiate at our ceremony? When and where will the ceremony take place? Which rituals will we include? Joining Hands and Hearts will help you answer all of these questions and more, with a detailed questionnaire to help you learn more about yourselves and each other, practical guides to structuring an interfaith wedding ceremony, tender counsel on how to work with your families, and the most complete manual of religious, cultural, and universal rituals, prayers, vows, and blessings available. In warm, inclusive language, Reverend Susanna Macomb guides you through the most sensitive of issues with love and encouragement. She offers the stories and ceremonies of other couples to inspire you. You are not alone! Interfaith, intercultural, and interracial couples bring healing and hope for all of us. You are the future, and Joining Hands and Hearts can help you celebrate your union with all of the love, grace, and magic it deserves.




Women, Spirituality, and Transformative Leadership


Book Description

A dynamic conversation on the power of women's spiritual leadership and its emerging patterns of transformation. "We invite you to come with curiosity into this living community of spiritual women, listening deeply as they share their personal stories of how their spiritual journeys have shaped and honed them as leaders.... We do not offer answers to all of the complex questions facing us as a human family, but we invite you to join us as we surrender to the mystery of being open, present and engaged together in these uncertain times." --from the Introduction This empowering resource engages women in an interactive exploration of the challenges and opportunities on the frontier of women's spiritual leadership. Through the voices of North American women representing a matrix of diversity--ethnically, spiritually, religiously, generationally and geographically--women will be inspired to new expressions of their own personal leadership and called into powerful collaborative action. CONTRIBUTORS: Lisa Anderson * Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD * Karen R. Boyett, MA * Fredelle Brief * Reverend Guo Cheen * Joan Chittister, OSB * Phyllis W. Curott, JD and HPs * Dr. Barbara E. Fields * Rachelle Figueroa * Carol Lee Flinders, PhD * China Galland * The Right Reverend Mary Douglas Glasspool * Shareda Hosein * Kathleen S. Hurty, PhD * Musimbi Kanyoro, PhD * Valarie Kaur * Kay Lindahl * Dawn T. Maracle, MEd, EdD (ABD) * Courtney E. Martin * Susan Quinn * Jan Booman Saeed * Adelia Sandoval * Ann Marie Sayers * Kathe Schaaf * Reverend Lorenza Andrade Smith * ALisa Starkweather * Lynda Terry * Diane Tillman * Yoland Trevino * Karma Lekshe Tsomo * Nontombi Naomi Tutu * Jamia Wilson




Traversing the Heart


Book Description

The key wager of Traversing the Heart - Journeys of the Inter-religious Imagination is that a spiritual imaginary operating at the level of metaphor, narrative, symbol and epiphany can traverse the borders of dogma and ideology and open genuine conversations between wisdom traditions. Like every hermeneutics of the heart, this journey begins to unfold in a concrete space and time: the interreligious conference at Bangalore in June 2007. While this collection does not claim to cover the religious traditions of all continents, its concluding essay on transculturation in Andean-Christian art highlights the importance of the North-South dialogue as a necessary supplement to the East-West one largely addressed in the book. As a call to future journeys and dialogue, this volume aims to communicate the one seminal lesson learned during the India conference: that in our third millennium, religions will be inter-religious or they will not be at peace.




These are the Words


Book Description

Judaism itself is a language, a group's way of expressing beliefs, longings, aspirations and dreams. The vocabulary of Jewish life is the framework that Jews use to hand their past down to their children. It is, also, the vocabulary that people of other faiths need to know to understand Judaism and Jewish life. In this revised edition of the ultimate Jewish primer, one of the greatest spiritual teachers of our time takes readers on a historical and spiritual journey through Judaism.




Open Your Eyes Toward Living More Deeply in the Present


Book Description

In order to discover inner peace and peace in our world, we will need to let go of traditional understandings of pain and suffering as God's will. We will need to stop claiming that Christianity contains elite, exclusive truths. We learn here from the Jesus of the Gospel of Mark how to open our eyes and awaken to the Presence of God here and now. Gail Stearns brings insight from biblical scholars, spiritual leaders, and her own experience as a pastor and university teacher, to move us to a place where we can dwell more deeply in the present and live in a more compassionate world.




The Art of Interfaith Spiritual Care


Book Description

Relationships between people are frequently compromised as a result of religious viewpoints, but appropriate spiritual care requires bridges to understanding that will allow for trust and justice to become visible. The pattern for this book is shaped on the recognition that, while religious expressions differ markedly in their presentation, we can discern at the core of all religious expressions a supposition of sacred presence. It is therefore helpful for us all, in the daily events of our lives, that we approach people of other faiths with a degree of humility, recognizing that neither we, nor they, have a final answer to the question of faith. The book is divided into four parts, each part containing some chapters, in which elements of interfaith care are considered. Part one explores the complexities of interfaith engagement. Part two discusses ways for caring for each other in the search for meaning. Part three claims that spirituality is most difficult, if not impossible to define, but can be visible in a variety of experiences. The fourth part explores ways in which all that has gone before may be put into practice as spiritual care.




Our Religious Brains


Book Description

This is a groundbreaking, accessible look at the implications of cognitive science for religion and theology, intended for laypeople. Avoiding neurological jargon and respectful to all faiths, it examines: