Freed in Christ to engage our neighbors in a multi-religious world, Christians live and work in an increasingly multi-ethnic and multi-religious context. How does this affect their calling to serve their neighbors and their community? What resources does the Lutheran Christian tradition offer? Woven into this book are more than fifty stories of ELCA inter-religious engagement. These examples from local ministry settings are supplemented by practical tips, theological reflection, and historical analysis. The result is a guide for study, discussion, and action as a contribution toward the 500th observance of the Reformation in 2017 and beyond.

This book is an attempt to contribute to interfaith-dialogue initiatives spearheaded by the Catholic Church with Zen, one of the major and fast-growing spiritual traditions in East Asia. In recent years, the Catholic Church has emphasized the importance of interfaith dialogue in its missionary activities and has encouraged all to take part actively. The number of conferences organized, discussions held, and articles written on interfaith dialogue has escalated. However, interfaith dialogue remains mostly in the realm of specialists. The majority of ordinary believers/laity have not yet become part of interfaith-dialogue activities. Many are unaware of such activities because often they don't take place where ordinary people spend their daily lives. Others shy away because interfaith-dialogue activities are too specialized. But Joseph's experience growing up in a multireligious context in India taught him that the participation of ordinary believers is necessary if interfaith dialogue is to achieve its intended results. Christian - Zen Dialogue focuses on narratives of faith in Christianity and Zen. Can these sacred stories--gospel stories of Jesus and Chan/Zen stories (K_ans)--be a starting point for dialogue between the two faiths? The book focuses on two aspects: First, what model of interfaith dialogue can help Catholics and Zen followers of all walks of life engage in faith dialogue while remaining in their own life situations? Second, how can they make use of the common elements found in their narratives of faith as the most appropriate starting point for dialogue between them? To achieve the intended results, Joseph applies the hermeneutic phenomenological approach of Paul Ricoeur.

Communication theory provides a compelling way to understand how people of faith can and should work together in today’s tumultuous world. In A Communication Perspective on Interfaith Dialogue, fifteen authors present their experiences and analyses of interfaith dialogue, and contextualize interfaith work within the frame of rhetorical and communication studies. While the focus is on the Abrahamic faiths, these essays also include discussion of Hinduism and interracial faith efforts. Each chapter incorporates communication theories that bring clarity to the practices and problems of interfaith communication. Where other interfaith books provide theological, political, or sociological insights, this volume is committed to the perspectives contained in communication scholarship. Interfaith dialogue is best imagined as an organic process, and it does not require theological heavyweights gathered for academic banter. As such, this volume focuses on the processes and means by which interfaith meaning is produced.

This is a joint publication with the Board of Mission which includes an essay by Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali on interfaith dialogue in Pakistan.

Vietnamese American Peter Phan reflects on cultural diversity in spiritual life, focussing on the question of how much uniformity people will tolerate in life, liturgy, & denominational self-definition.

When diverse faiths come together the encounter can be intense, awkward, even violent, but creating a dialogue can help reconcile differences. This book considers the patience and passion involved in promoting such interfaith activities.

An expanded and updated edition of a classic by one of the giants in this field. Faith and belief in a multireligious experience are discussed, with emphasis on understanding one's own religion and tradition before attempting to understand someone else's.

In the face of competing religious claims in our shrinking world, many turn to dialogue as a hopeful way of fostering understanding and reducing violence. But why does actual dialogue so often fail? This provocative essay investigates the possibilities and limits of interreligious dialogue. By showing the significant obstacles for dialogue within Christianity, the book also proposes ways in which these obstacles may be overcome from within. Major themes include Humility, Conviction, Interconnection, Empathy, and Generosity.

Papers originally presented at a workshop conducted by BTTBPSA.

Scholars are seeking to identify how to constructively integrate faith into diplomacy. Proponents of faith-based diplomacy recognise that incorporating faith into peacemaking activities assists in managing identity-based conflict and religiously motivated violence in the contemporary international system. A promising strategy within the scope of faith-based diplomacy is interfaith dialogue. The study and practice of interfaith dialogue has been reinvigorated since the advent of 9/11, and yet the link between interfaith dialogue and diplomacy remains underdeveloped. The cases of Indonesia and the United States present lessons on how states can effectively use interfaith dialogue to achieve policy objectives, while recognising that some policies are detrimental to achieving diplomatic goals. This paper seeks to provide some framework for bringing interfaith dialogue into the scope of diplomacy by illuminating how faith-based diplomacy and interfaith dialogue can be innovative diplomatic perspectives useful in addressing contemporary global issues.