Thoughts and Links
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Sacred Ground: Pluralism, Prejudice, and the Promise of America

We are excited to see Eboo Patel’s new book go up on Amazon for pre-order: Sacred Ground: Pluralism, Prejudice, and the Promise of America.

From Amazon.com:

An inspiring call for Americans to defend the values of inclusiveness and pluralism by one of our best-known American Muslim leaders

In the decade following the attacks of 9/11, suspicion and animosity toward American Muslims has increased rather than subsided. Alarmist, hateful rhetoric once relegated to the fringes of political discourse has now become frighteningly mainstream, with pundits and politicians routinely invoking the specter of Islam as a menacing, deeply anti-American force. In this timely new book, author, activist, and presidential advisor Eboo Patel says this prejudice is not just a problem for Muslims but also a challenge to the very idea of America. Sacred Groundshows us that Americans from George Washington to Martin Luther King Jr. have been “interfaith leaders,” and it illustrates how the forces of pluralism in America have time and again defeated the forces of prejudice. Now a new generation needs to rise up and confront the anti-Muslim prejudice of our era. To this end, Patel offers a primer in the art and science of interfaith work, bringing to life the growing body of research on how faith can be a bridge of cooperation rather than a barrier of division and sharing stories from the frontlines of interfaith activism. Pluralism, Patel boldly argues, is at the heart of the American project. It is a responsibility we all must share, and Patel’s visionary book will inspire Americans of all faiths to make this country a place where diverse traditions can thrive side by side.

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Jim Wallis on responding to religious intolerance

From the Huffington Post:

“I do not advocate a religious pluralism that blurs the significant differences between religions, but I do believe that my religious tradition calls me to be a peacemaker and to love my neighbors, especially when I do not agree with them.”

Read the article at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-wallis/a-test-of-character_b_1501616.html.

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John Morehead on evangelicals and relating to people of other faiths

John Morehead, Director of the Evangelical Chapter of the Foundation for Religious Diplomacy discusses evangelicalism and relating to people of other faiths.

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Finally! I’m out of the thesis-cave.

For the past few months, my time has been engulfed by work, wedding planning, and thesis writing. But I am quite pleased to say that, though the wedding planning is still ongoing, the thesis is NOT. I have submitted it to the department for review, and can now breathe easy(er) and maybe–just maybe–get a bit of sleep.

What will I do with this new free time, you might ask? Do the things I love, of course. And that means more writing about the church, and developing new media content with Greg to provide even more resources on the intersection of evangelism and interfaith cooperation.

With the ICIC just behind us, there’s plenty to talk about! I look forward to getting back on top of things and stepping up to help poor Greg out, who has diligently maintained this site in my absence despite his own remarkably full schedule. (Sorry Greg!)

You will hear from me again soon…

-C.

 

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Quick thoughts after ICIC12

Cameron and I just finished with a long and exhausting weekend organizing and participating in the Illinois Conference on Interfaith Collaboration. I really enjoyed the chance to chat with Jim Wallis of Sojourners on Friday night, run another interfaith meal packaging event, see Chris Stedman (although meal-packaging clean-up kept me from attending his talk), and hear from Valarie Kaur this morning. All had very different backgrounds and perspectives but stimulated a lot of great conversation. We’ll follow-up in the coming days with some reflects and content from ICIC12.

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More on Gordon College – MIT Partnership

Just came across this video about the Loving our Religious Neighbors group led by Kyleen Burke – enjoy!

(Thanks to John Morehead for the tip via the Evangelical Chapter of the Foundation for Religious Diplomacy Facebook group)