Multifaith Matters

In the wake of the most recent terror attack France is wresting with secularism, pluralism and freedom of speech issues. America faces its own challenges as Christian hegemony wanes and minority religious and secular voices seek their place in the public square. What is the best way forward in this situation, particularly in light of increasing polarization and intergroup conflict and the loss of trust and social capital? Charles Randall Paul and John Morehead discuss the issues and suggest promising pathways out of the abyss. For more on the Foundation for Religious Diplomacy visit www.religious-diplomacy.org, and The World Table at www.theworldtable.co.

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Dehumanization is a significant but neglected facet of multifaith and interfaith work. When evangelicals and other Christians use the metaphors of disease, warfare, and demonization to talk about religious others, we are drawing on dehumanization. How is it defined? How has it taken place historically, and in the present, by Christians and others? And how can we take steps to combat it within our ranks? We answer these questions in a conversation with David Livingstone Smith, author of On Inhumanity: Dehumanization and How to Resist It (Oxford University Press, 2020)

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Stephen Trainer is pastor of Graffiti Fellowship Church and Graffiti Ministries. In this conversation he discusses his church's relationship with the Muslim community in Brooklyn. His church is also a part of our national Network of churches and ministries.

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David Shenk has years of experience in relationships and conversations with Muslims. He is the author of a number of books, including A Muslim and Christian in Dialogue, Christian. Muslim. Friend., Journeys of the Muslim Nation and the Christian Church, and Teatime in Mogadishu: My Journey as a Peace Ambassador in the World of Islam. He has also contributed a response to Do Christians, Muslims, and Jews Worship the Same God?: Four Views, where with Joseph Cumming, he explores the implications of this question specifically for Christians wanting to minister among and build relationships with Muslims.

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Statistics indicate that religious switching happens with increasing frequency, and interfaith marriages are on the rise. How would you as a Christian navigate the challenges of an interfaith relationship? What if your wife became a Mormon or Buddhist? What if your daughter became a Muslim? In this video podcast conversation with Patricia Raybon and Alana Raybon, co-authors of Undivided: A Muslim Daughter, Her Christian Mother, Their Path to Peace (W Publishing Group, 2015), who discuss how they worked through the challenges of Alana converting to Islam.

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Craig Blomberg is distinguished professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary. He has been involved in Evangelical-Mormon dialogue for over 20 years, and has contributed a chapter in, A Charitable Orthopathy (Pickwick, 2019). In this podcast he shares his reflections on the lessons he has learned about multifaith engagement over the years as a result of his scriptural studies and relationships with Mormons.

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Dr. Paul Louis Metzger is Professor, Christian Theology and Theology of Culture at Multnomah University, and Director of the Institute for Cultural Engagement: New Wine, New Wineskins. He is the author of a number of books including Connecting Christ and Evangelical Zen. In this interview we discuss Dr. Metzger's academic and popular work in multifaith engagement.

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In this podcast we talk to Carrie Graham, Pastor and fonder of The Church Lab. While at Fuller Theological Seminary, she had a worshipful and transformative experience with dialogue. She came to see dialogue facilitation as a vital pastoral skill and began facilitating multifaith dialogues in 2007. By the time she became a pastor in 2009, she understood spiritual growth as having 4 pillars: dialogue, discipleship, outreach/mission and worship. They each exercise distinct spiritual muscles. At the end of the day, TCL meets unmet spiritual needs as the American religious landscape changes. The Church Lab exists to help practitioners of any or no religious affiliation - and at times Christian leaders specifically - to help the Church discover her future. You can learn more about The Church Lab by visiting their website.

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In this podcast interview we are pleased to talk with Pastor Phil Wyman. Phil has been a Pastor of a church in Salem, MA called The Gathering. His latest work involves planting micro-churches in festival settings, and includes a combination of art and human interaction, which he calls “Blank Canvas Art.” As an expert on Paganism and related New Religious Movements, Phil has been instrumental in breaking down relational barriers between the Witch and Christian communities in Salem, MA, and has helped train thousands of people over the last 20 years to engage their cities, their festivals, and their Pagan neighbors in creative ways. You can get a copy of his book Burning Religion, learn more about Pastor Phil here, and support his work through his Patreon page.

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Nick Armstrong of Cole Community Church in Boise, Idaho shares his work with the Muslim community that he and his wife Laura started after 23 years of living and working in a predominantly Muslim country. He shares his background, the Christians and Muslims involved, their activities, the foundation for this kind of approach, and words of advice and encouragement to pastors.

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