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globaltheology
Momentum from dialogue and interfaith relationships
Time to wake up for dialogue! Young theologians on their way to a con ference in Indonesia
It has been said that before the modern period we lived in an ‘Age
of Monologue’ and now we have shifted into an ‘Age of Dialogue’.
The contrast in this claim may be too stark, but I think we can recognise
its broad truth.
People from different traditions are beginning to co-operate in many ways in today’s world –
- working together on joint action and projects at local and global levels to bring greater justice and peace to society
- listening to one another in small groups and learning to hear different faith-stories
- wrestling intellectually with ‘sameness’ and ‘strangeness’ around the table of theological and philosophical debate
- coming to value the spirituality of others
- evolving an identity that is bound up with the different identity of others.
Much of the spirit of dialogue, friendship, exchange and learning is a mutual activity, and it assumes a position of parity between people of genuine integrity. It becomes harder to maintain a stance of superiority or absolutism for one’s own tradition the more we come to experience the benefits of the fruits of dialogue and friendship. It seems that all traditions have produced good and bad effects in the world and done so in about equal measure (though how to measure this empirically is a well nigh-impossible thing to achieve).
In other words, experience is causing us to re-evaluate our theologies and philosophies. We are moving beyond tolerance to the mutual recognition of the positive value of the other. And if religious practitioners can see their need of one another, then theology must account for the new relationships.
Contents / Introduction / Global superiority / All-Inclusive / Momentum / Pressure / Inductive approaches / Initiatives /Summary / Inspiration / Resources
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interfaith organisations network 2003 |