Engaging with Bediuzzaman Said Nursi A Model of Interfaith Dialogue - A New Book by Ian S. Markham,

2009-10-05 12:19:48

Too often interfaith dialogue is generic and unfocused. Often it involves 'liberals' from each tradition coming together to criticize the 'conservatives' in their own traditions. This book provides a model for interfaith dialogue that challenges very directly the 'dialogue industry'.

This book involves a Christian theologian in deep conversation with a Muslim theologian. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (1877-1960) was born at the end of the Ottoman Empire and lived through the emergence of an aggressive secular state. He had to think through, in remarkably creative ways, the challenge of faith within a secular environment, the relationship of faith and politics, and the implications and challenge of diversity and difference. His entire project is captured in his magnum opus 'The Risale-i Nur'. In the first eight chapters of this book, we engage closely with the thought of Nursi and tease out insights that Christians can learn from and accommodate.

Having established the method, the second section of the book examines the precise implications for the interfaith movement. The problem with the interfaith movement is that it is an act of western cultural imperialism - they are taking the individualist assumptions of modern America and imposing them on the conversation. The problems with John Hick's and Leonard Swidler's approach are exposed. Moving out from Islam, the book then demonstrates how the model of Interfaith changes when Christians are in conversation with Hinduism in India. A new set of Dialogue Ten Commandments are suggested. The book concludes with an appeal for a commitment to include and reach the 'conservatives' in the major religious traditions.

Contents: Introduction; Section 1: Introduction – Christian Theology and Islam; Religious basis for ethics; Challenging atheism; Living life accountable; Faith first, politics second; Engaging religious diversity; Coping with globalization; Grounded spirituality; What Christians can learn from Beduizzman Said Nursi. Section 2 Rethinking Dialogue: The dialogue industry; Learning from India; A new decalogue; Conservatives and dialogue; A theology of Christian engagement with non-Christian traditions; Conclusion; Index

About the Author: The Very Revd Ian Markham is Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary. He is the author and editor of numerous books, including: Islam, Globalization, and Ethics, with Ibraham Ozdemir, (Ashgate 2005), Understanding Christian Doctrine, (Blackwell 2007), A World Religions Reader, 2nd edition (Blackwell, 2000), Do Morals Matter? (Blackwell, 2006), A Theology of Engagement (Blackwell, 2004), September 11: Religious Perspectives and Consequences (2002), Theological Liberalism (2002), Encountering Religion (Blackwell, 1998), and Truth and the Reality of God (1998).

This title is also available as an eBook, ISBN 978-0-7546-9679-7

You can also listen to Conversation of Ian S. Markham in a program. 
What Christians Can Learn from Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. A Christian Theologian in Conversation

http://rumiforum.org/podcast/LUNCHEONIanMarkham.mp3