Christianity and Other World Religions
WEDNESDAYS, 26 MAY, 2, 9, 16 JUNE 2010
An Institute of Anglican Studies Lecture Series
Time: 7.30pm – 9.00pm
Venue: The Cathedral
Entry: $15.00 per session ($10.00 concession)
This series of talks on Hinduism (26 May), Buddhism (2 June), Islam (9 June) and Judaism (16 June) will be delivered by an expert in each world faith, and followed by comment on the differences and commonalities between that particular faith and Christianity.
“In true dialogue with people of different faiths or convictions we expect to learn something: we expect to be different as a result of the encounter. We don’t as a rule expect to change our minds. We come with conviction and gratitude and confidence, but it’s the confidence that I believe allows us to embark on these encounters hoping that we may learn. That is not to change our conviction, but to learn. And I think it works a bit like this:
“When we sit alongside the Jew, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, we expect to see in their humanity something that challenges and enlarges ours. We expect to receive something from their humanity as a gift to ours. It’s a famous and much-quoted statement in the Qur’an that God did not elect to make everybody the same. God has made us to learn in dialogue. And to say that I have learned from a Buddhist or a Muslim or a Hindu or a Jew about God or humanity is not to compromise where I began. Because the infinite truth … is not a matter which can be exhausted by one set of formulae or one set of practices. I may emerge from my dialogue as confident as I have ever been … and yet say that I’ve learned something I never dreamed of, and that my discipleship is enriched in gratitude and respect.”
Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, from a lecture given during a visit to the Diocese of Guildford, 2 March 2010
Further information: info@perthcathedral.org or (08) 9325 5766
