Religion

Should Christians get involved in interfaith dialogue?

Respected theologian, speaker, author and director of John Mark Ministries, Rev Dr Rowland Croucher turns 72 today. He’s an amazing guy who has been sharing his faith through various means for many years. He speaks to hundreds of thousands of people online each year.

A couple of years ago I spoke to him about interfaith dialogue. The Parliament of the World’s Religions had just been launched in Melbourne and was set down for December 2009.

Two years on and the parliament is currently being held in Melbourne with thousands of people from all the major world religions gathering to discuss faith issues.

I’ve just listened again to my interview with Rowland and what he had to say back then is just as relevant today. I urge you to listen to what he had to say by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

Is it arrogant to claim that any one religion has an exclusive connection to God? Does discussing faith matters with followers of other religions mean that we think it doesn’t matter which spiritual path you take? What is the role of interfaith dialogue in our spiritual walk?

I grew up in 60s and 70s in the suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. That means that I’ve generally had little connection with people who follow other spiritual paths. My two trips to India have helped to broaden my understanding of those who don’t hold to the same beliefs that I do. I haven’t changed my view that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, but thankfully I can dialogue with others about their journey without feeling that my own beliefs are being threatened.

Should Christians be dialoguing with believers from other faiths? Is there anything we can learn from those who follow other religions?

We are living in a world of greater and greater diversity. If you’re wondering how faith fits into that world I’d encourage you to listen to what Rowland said back in 2007.

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The Carnival is Coming Back

Aug 8th, 2008

by Rodney Olsen.

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I’m having some friends drop in next week. They’ll be visiting from all over the world and you’re invited to join us. The next Christian Carnival is being hosted here at RodneyOlsen.net.

The most recent edition is posted at Brain Cramps for God.

The weekly Christian Carnival is an opportunity for Christian blog writers to share their best posts from the previous week. The topic of the post doesn’t necessarily have to focus on Christianity but it must reflect a Christian worldview, and the writer must be Christian to qualify. You may wish to consider that the readership of the Christian Carnival will be more varied than your usual readership, and you might do better contributing a post with broad appeal.

I’ve taken part in the carnival many times over the years and this will be the second time I’ve hosted the carnival. I’ve already received a number of contributions and I’m looking forward to offering readers of this blog some great links when the carnival is published.

If you’re a Christian and you’ve never contributed before, or if it’s been a while since you have, how about having a look through your posts for this week and choosing something to contribute. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece, just a post that outlines your point of view or is designed to get others thinking. Being part of the carnival could be a great way to gain a little extra traffic at your blog.

The easiest way to get involved is to submit your article through the Blog Carnival Submission Form. Otherwise, you can email the submission address.

The deadline for submissions is Tuesday evening at midnight, Eastern (US) Standard Time. (EST is GMT minus five hours.) That means it’s midday Wednesday here in Perth, Western Australia.

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Evil in the Church

Mar 5th, 2008

by Rodney Olsen.

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There are bad apples in any kind of work or social organisation and most of the time we understand that while those bad apples can tend to cast a shadow over others, they are not indicative of the wider group.

Pedophiles, bullies, thieves, fraudsters and others like them can be found at all levels of society but should we be able to expect a higher standard of conduct from those within the church? Many of us know that people of faith often struggle with the same issues that those outside the church are facing but surely of God is real, faith in him should make a difference.

Many people claim that they can’t accept God or faith because they see so much evil within churches. Does their claim hold water?

My regular Wednesday morning guest on 98.5 Sonshine FM is Ross Clifford who is the Principal of Morling College in New South Wales and current President of the Baptist Union of Australia. Each week we chat about a range of issues relating to spirituality and belief.

Last week we looked at the problem of evil within the church and whether people are right to avoid a church that seems to preach one thing then do another.

We looked at the record of the Christian church and found that overall the story is certainly not all about people failing to live up to their beliefs but one of many great triumphs. However, the point remains that there are people who have done some terrible things in the name of God or while claiming to follow him. What can we do about it?

Listen to what Ross has to say by clicking the play button on the Audio Player at the bottom of this post.

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The Case for Interfaith Dialogue

Dec 17th, 2007

by Rodney Olsen.

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The 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions was recently launched at Federation Square in Melbourne Australia. It’s an event with an 114 year history and it occurs somewhere around the the world every 5 years.

The 2009 event is to be held in Melbourne and is expected to attract eight to ten thousand guests from eighty countries as well as more than five thousand Australians, providing opportunity for ordinary people of faith – Christians, Jews and Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists – to share their faith with each other and learn more about what each other believe.

Respected theologian, speaker, author and director of John Mark Ministries, Rev Dr Rowland Croucher believes strongly that interfaith activities are something that ‘real’ Christians need to be involve themselves in. I recently spoke to him on 98.5 Sonshine FM.

Rowland has years of experience in talking through the tough questions with a range of people on their own spiritual search. He has some brilliant things to say and I heartily recommend that you listen to our interview by clicking here.

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