dialogue
My UCC church’s listening experiment with our evangelical neighbors
I hoped our shared faith would provide enough common ground. I was a bit naive.
We need to talk about climate change
Scientist Katharine Hayhoe recommends focusing on common ground and hope.
In the Fearless Dialogues movement, people try to truly see each other
Gregory Ellison II's book evokes the sort of honest conversations he has been convening.
Why Christians should talk together about Obama’s visit to Hiroshima
“Seventy-one years ago, on a bright cloudless morning, death fell from the sky and the world was changed.”
I hear these words on a bright, cloudless morning on my way to work. They begin the speech that President Obama gave several hours earlier at Hiroshima.
How to talk to a person who supports Donald Trump
Donald Trump’s proposal to screen all Muslims in the U.S. has drawn considerable backlash from liberals and conservatives alike. Journalists, bloggers, politicians, and religious leaders have condemned Trump’s plan and argued that it is inconsistent with core American values such as equality and religious freedom. They argue, rightly, that Trump’s comments are definitive proof that he shouldn’t be president. Really, he shouldn’t be anywhere near the presidency. He shouldn’t even be allowed to watch The West Wing.
This criticism is justified and necessary, but it is unlikely to be heard by those most drawn to Trump’s rhetoric.
Talking points: Disciples vote on pro-gay resolution
I sometimes envy my colleagues whose denominations have already fought this issue out, voted and moved on. We Disciples don't work that way.
Talking about Trayvon at church
On Sunday I visited a church that's majority white but not overwhelmingly so. After worship, I stuck around for a planned conversation about Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman. Here the demographics were flipped: a slight majority of African Americans.
But the white folks did their share of the talking.
Beyond anger and blame: How to achieve constructive conflict
"Speak the truth in love," and "see that none of you repays evil for evil," exhorts St. Paul. Which is easier said than done.
by Allan Rohlfs
What are productive ways to talk about climate change?
Earlier this year, the Century published a piece by an environmental scientist on just how radical the current shift in CO2 levels are—from the perspective of 50 million years. As I was working with that scientist, Lee Vierling, on the piece, we struggled to find a language that he and I and readers of the Century could share.
He wanted something that was fluid and scientifically absolutely accurate. He also wanted to be certain that he was not using scare tactics.
Disagreeing in love: A congregation discusses same-sex marriage
I knew I had to talk to him. This longtime church elder would soon see my newsletter article, and he wasn't going to like it.
Shared devotion
The deep attention and reverence that Thomas Merton and Abdul Aziz brought to each other's books, traditions and lives undergirded their friendship, and the frank way they explored their similarities and differences enlivened it.
On not growing in faith and knowledge
In recent conversations with my seminary classmates, we've
been lamenting the state of Christian education. In many churches it is evident
that the average member hasn't grown in religious or biblical knowledge since he
or she heard moralistic tales of Noah, Esther or Daniel as a child. Some even resist
pastoral attempts to expand their Christian knowledge, and they simply refuse
to learn about other
religions. As seminarians, we are struggling with how to respond to this.