Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Topic for Next Interfaith Event
At lunch today I was asked if I knew the topic for the next Interfaith Event. (The next event is November 9th.) Many ideas have been floating around but I have not decided on a topic and am open to suggestions. If you have a topic which you would like addressed at An Interfaith Event please post your suggestion in the comment box below.
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10 comments:
1) A theological response to the account of human origins given by evolutionary biology.
2) The origin of evil.
3) The morality of war.
4) A theological response to global warming.
5) Divine and human freedom.
6) The openness of the future.
7) The destiny/end of history (eschatology).
Thank you for your suggestions, Steve. If I use all of those topics that will keep us busy until at least 2015!! I am still interested in hearing from other faiths on the topic of death and afterlife. The Interfaith Events are not conducive to having all faiths represented every time and I think we still have much to learn from the other faiths represented in our community. Do you think it would be redundant to address that topic again next year with the faiths that were not represented this past April?
Several of your suggestions have already been given to me. The origin of evil and a faith response to environmental issues have been suggested by several people.
Again, thanks for your suggestions.
Hi Ramona - one idea that came to mind today was to discuss a book or books, such as Scott Adams' "God's Debris" or "The Religion War," Arbinger Institute's "The Anatomy of Peace" or "Leadership and Self Deception" and/or Rob Bell's "Love Wins"; maybe have a bit more of an open forum vs a panel. Discussion could center around how ideas in these books or others advance the cause of peace.
Dave, thank you for your ideas. The idea of reading and discussing a book seems perfect for the monthly HIP (Haven Interfaith Parent) meetings. In that format everyone would be committed to reading the book which helps with the discussion. In a large Interfaith Event using a book as a format for a topic may be more difficult if the audience members are not familiar with the book. What do you think?
Ramona
You're welcome, Ramona. Given the huge range of topics available, I guess I would probably move on from death/afterlife, despite not having a more full representation from different faith traditions. A question about eschatology would incorporate some of those issues, though, and the desitiny of history has certainly been in the news of late!
I'm glad some of those other issues I mentioned have been suggested. And you probably know how passionate I am about the origin of life question.
God bless you for the work you are doing. God IS blessing you. I am so grateful for you and for your devotion to interfaith dialogue.
Steve
Hi Ramona - I'm not sure whether discussing a book would work for an event, but "Love Wins" would likely spark too much controversy. "The Anatomy of Peace" might work as it's not a religious book, but more of a practical guide to living in peace. I know someone who's been trained at The Arbinger Institute that might be willing to facilitate a session based on ideas from the book.
Hi Dave, I would agree with you about Rob Bell's book. And it also seems more appropriate for a Christian discussion since the issue is if Rob Bell is within the bounds of Christian orthodoxy. I am not familiar with the book, "The Anatomy of Peace". Do you have a copy which I could look through? It does sound intriguing.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Ramona
This summer has been filled with wonderful celebrations. We have been to graduations, weddings and celebrated the births of newborns. But this summer has also been filled with tragedy. We know of those who are suffering because of storms and flooding. We know of those who are suffering because of tragic accidents. A dear friend of mine asked me this week, "How can a God of mercy allow this to happen?" As I've pondered that question in light of the suffering that is occurring I'm convinced this would be an important topic for an Interfaith Event this next year.
Thank you for requesting ideas for future meetings. I attended the spring seminar for the first time, and I so enjoyed hearing from other faiths about the afterlife. This is perhaps the most profound thing going on in Ft. Wayne right now. As for ideas, I also would love to hear other responses re the afterlife from faiths not present at the other meeting, particularly Jewish, Daoist or Buddhist, and mystic or Earth traditions. I would also be interested in a discussion concerning hyper-fundamentalism and how it is manifested in various religions (we only hear about the Christian and Muslim, but that, too, would be worth exploring)and how one should respond to it. The question of evil and suffering never goes away, and would be a useful future topic.
I also would love to see a short period of time allotted for questions from the audience.
Thank you so much for the time spent organizing and hosting these meetings. They are more important than I can say.
Thank you so much for your input on topics for this coming year. Your suggestion of hyper-fundamentalism is the first I have heard of that topic. And you are correct, that would be a fascinating topic. The smaller interfaith groups which I have been involved in have discussed that all religions have these type of groups within each religion. Due to the amount of pain and suffering in our own community in the past few months the topic of 'suffering' keeps arising. It seems an important topic for our community and I am planning on using that as a topic for the event on November 9th. Hopefully you will be able to attend. Thank you for your support. It is so appreciated!
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