Future Religious and Ethical Leaders Ask The Hard Questions -- Together. This is the new mission on earth. As we move through chaotic times, wars and divisiveness worldwide, it is paramount that these issues be engaged so that peace may prevail amongst all as the event horizon of 2012 nears.
"Thou shalt not' might reach the head, but it takes 'Once upon a time' to reach the heart." So said Philip Pullman, author of The Golden Compass, in a 2007 interview with The Atlantic. He might be right, but I can't help but wonder: What if we could reach both the head and the heart?
It's a question I asked myself many times over while writing my Master of Arts in Religion thesis on narrative and religion last year. Now, as the Managing Director of State of Formation, a new online forum for emerging religious and ethical leaders founded by the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue and run in partnership with Hebrew College, Andover Newton Theological School and collaboration with Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions, I am so excited about the content that has flooded the site in its inaugural week -- and how our religious and philosophical academics are using both their minds and their hearts to enter into dialogue.
"Our initial group of nearly 70 contributing scholars contains Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Protestant (among them Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian and others), Hindu, Secular Humanist, Sikh, Agnostic, Greek Orthodox, Unitarian Universalist, Mormon, Evangelical Christian, Atheist and Lindisfarne participants. Some were born in the Bible belt; others grew up in places like Jamaica, Singapore, Japan, and Germany. They are gay and straight, liberal and conservative, religious and secular.
There is also a wide range of experience among them. Some have been engaged in interfaith dialogue and social action for years -- others are brand new to it. There are Ph.D. students, people in Master of Arts in Religion, Master of Divinity, and Master of Education programs, some fresh out of graduate school, community organizers and activists, and even a recent Master of Fine Arts graduate and current professor of creative writing who is at work on a memoir about growing up as an Evangelical Christian. Many live in various parts of the United States of America, and there are several in England, Israel, Australia and other parts of the world."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-stedman/future-religious-and-ethi_b_788464.html
"Why did an individual who has never blogged, tweeted, or facebooked (is this the term?) decide to apply to a new interreligious initiative that will exist almost exclusively in the online world?" asked Turner. "I believe that ... those who are a part of this ever growing community are truly embarking on something unique. As we get to know each other over the next few months, I believe we will be, in many ways, defining what 'interreligious dialogue 2.0' will look like in the future."
"To see the future religious and philosophical leaders of tomorrow begin to redefine the discourse on religion and ethics together today, please take a look at the website. We invite you to weigh in; as our diverse group of Contributing Scholars can attest, this is a conversation that not only needs everyone -- it needs everyone's heart and mind. "
Future Religious and Ethical Leaders Ask The Hard Questions -- Together. If there is to be any hope of religious and spiritual integration and peace, it will be through the efforts of people such as these who realize that spiritual richness lies far beyond one narrow point of view.
"Thou shalt not' might reach the head, but it takes 'Once upon a time' to reach the heart." So said Philip Pullman, author of The Golden Compass, in a 2007 interview with The Atlantic. He might be right, but I can't help but wonder: What if we could reach both the head and the heart?
It's a question I asked myself many times over while writing my Master of Arts in Religion thesis on narrative and religion last year. Now, as the Managing Director of State of Formation, a new online forum for emerging religious and ethical leaders founded by the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue and run in partnership with Hebrew College, Andover Newton Theological School and collaboration with Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions, I am so excited about the content that has flooded the site in its inaugural week -- and how our religious and philosophical academics are using both their minds and their hearts to enter into dialogue.
"Our initial group of nearly 70 contributing scholars contains Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Protestant (among them Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian and others), Hindu, Secular Humanist, Sikh, Agnostic, Greek Orthodox, Unitarian Universalist, Mormon, Evangelical Christian, Atheist and Lindisfarne participants. Some were born in the Bible belt; others grew up in places like Jamaica, Singapore, Japan, and Germany. They are gay and straight, liberal and conservative, religious and secular.
There is also a wide range of experience among them. Some have been engaged in interfaith dialogue and social action for years -- others are brand new to it. There are Ph.D. students, people in Master of Arts in Religion, Master of Divinity, and Master of Education programs, some fresh out of graduate school, community organizers and activists, and even a recent Master of Fine Arts graduate and current professor of creative writing who is at work on a memoir about growing up as an Evangelical Christian. Many live in various parts of the United States of America, and there are several in England, Israel, Australia and other parts of the world."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-stedman/future-religious-and-ethi_b_788464.html
"Why did an individual who has never blogged, tweeted, or facebooked (is this the term?) decide to apply to a new interreligious initiative that will exist almost exclusively in the online world?" asked Turner. "I believe that ... those who are a part of this ever growing community are truly embarking on something unique. As we get to know each other over the next few months, I believe we will be, in many ways, defining what 'interreligious dialogue 2.0' will look like in the future."
"To see the future religious and philosophical leaders of tomorrow begin to redefine the discourse on religion and ethics together today, please take a look at the website. We invite you to weigh in; as our diverse group of Contributing Scholars can attest, this is a conversation that not only needs everyone -- it needs everyone's heart and mind. "
Future Religious and Ethical Leaders Ask The Hard Questions -- Together. If there is to be any hope of religious and spiritual integration and peace, it will be through the efforts of people such as these who realize that spiritual richness lies far beyond one narrow point of view.
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