Welcome to 2016! For some of you reading this, it has already started. For others, including me, it is still a few hours away. I want to thank you for reading my blog posts in the last six months. In the new year I will continue to post on Asian history, Christian-Muslim relations and contemporary… Read More Musings on the Year Ahead
A wind-swept island called Iona off the coast of Scotland, home for centuries to a famous community of monks that still today sees over 150,000 pilgrims visiting each year. On the other side of the world in West Asia was a mountain-side monastery named Beit Abhe (house of the forest), also functioning for over seven… Read More Living Outside Imperial Power: The Celts and Church of the East
Originally posted on Marilyn R. Gardner:
in the face of hate?-?Love Out Loud?by?Robynn?& Marilyn In Philadelphia, a severed pig’s head is?thrown at the door of a mosque. On the street in Boston a man tells a Muslim woman walking with her children that he hopes her children burn in hell. A Somali restaurant in North…
This is an excellent post by a leader from the Middle East, bringing out the challenges facing the Christians there but also the opportunities and hope. Source: The Church of the Middle East is on Life Support: Lessons for the Global Body of Christ
This week my wife and I went to a new movie about the life of Mother Teresa, The Letters. It’s surprising how little publicity it has received, but if you are in any place it is available, do go and see it, or watch it online at some point. It is well worth your time.… Read More Mother Teresa of Kolkata: A “Pencil in the Hands of God”
What does the campaign of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and 7th century Chinese Christianity have in common? Not much. Except the fact that there is a world beyond Trump, beyond the bombastic rhetoric and the chasms of fear and racism some of his comments have opened. For many people living in the USA (Republicans… Read More A World Beyond Trump: Hidden in Plain Sight for 1400 Years, Part 2
It was hidden in plain sight. For almost 1400 years, a leaning, frail looking tower-like structure had existed on a wind-swept hill. Fifty miles outside the Chinese city of Xian, the Da Qin pagoda is another living testament to the existence of Christianity in China in the 7th century. (For more on Xian and the… Read More Hidden in Plain Sight For Almost 1400 Years, Part 1
I love books. I love to hold them, smell them. If I could I would taste them. (sometimes when pondering a book it is even held close to my mouth.) Is there any more heavenly smell than a room full of books? (except maybe fresh brewed coffee on a cold winter morning). One of my… Read More The Demise of the Printed Book has been Greatly Exaggerated
An Invitation to Pause, Encounter & Grow Together.
a global story
learning life and leadership in Thailand
Our Journey Into Justice, Compassion, and Action
IFES Secretary for Dialogue and Social Engagement
WordPress.com is the best place for your personal blog or business site.
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COMMUNICATING ACROSS BOUNDARIES
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Encounters of Faith in Asia: Past, Present and Future 