resources & events
When two people relate to each other authentically and humanly,
God is the electricity that surges between them.
– Martin Buber, Jewish Philosopher (1878–1965)
Interfaith encounters and collaboration are occurring across the United States and around the world! Building Bridges Together™ is proud and excited to be part of this important ongoing work.
Perhaps you would like to know more about the creative and inspirational ways different faiths are working together, the impact of interfaith work, the rationale for interfaith collaboration and service, or the epiphanies that arise from interfaith encounters.
Perhaps you want to see what great religious thinkers say about the value of understanding “the other” or working with people of different faiths. Perhaps you want new perspectives on interfaith programs, or resources for your own exploration of interfaith relationships.
Or maybe you just want to understand your own faith’s perspective on interfaith dialogue.
Below we offer you a variety of resources to get you started on your journey of interfaith exploration.
If you encounter a resource you want to share, please send it to us at info@buildingbridgestogether.net!
Websites
Virtual Midrash Collection, The Tali Education Fund
“Visual Midrash is an online bilingual (Hebrew and English) collection of Bible art and commentary, sponsored by the TALI Education Fund in Israel. . . . The site also includes artist biographies and articles on the art as commentary, as well as extensive passages from Scripture, Midrash and Jewish, Muslim and Christian religious commentary.”
“The Woolf Institute's vision is a world in which collaborative discussion and constructive engagement overcome prejudice and intolerance. The Institute combines teaching, scholarship and outreach, focusing on Jews, Christians and Muslims, to encourage tolerance and foster understanding between people of all beliefs.”
"Islamic Networks Group (ING) is a peace-building organization providing face-to-face education and engagement opportunities that foster understanding of Muslims and other misunderstood groups to promote harmony among all people."
“Promoting empathy and understanding through religious and cultural literacy.”
“Scriptural Reasoning is a tool for inter-faith dialogue whereby people of different faiths come together to read and reflect on their scriptures. Unlike some forms of inter-faith engagement, it is not about seeking agreement but rather exploring the texts and their possible interpretations across faith boundaries, and learning to ‘disagree better’. The result is often a deeper understanding of others' and one’s own scriptures, as well as the development of strong bonds across faith communities. Scriptural Reasoning is now practiced globally, including in places affected by religion-related tensions and conflict.”
"Jews, Christians and Muslims uniting to serve the poor."
Peninsula Multifaith Coalition,
"The Peninsula Multifaith Coalition brings together our diverse faith communities to build bridges of understanding and respect. We stand together with humility to acknowledge our common values, learn from one another and serve our wider world."
Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Washington,
"IFC provides a platform for faith communities to unite as one voice for the respect and dignity of all."
Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies, "Finding our Religious Voices for Social Justice."
Minaret Foundation, a Texas- based nonprofit creating programming between mosques, synagogues and churches, and leveraging the relationships growing out of that programming toward civic advocacy and policy making consistent with shared values to change the world around us.
Videos
Together We Rise - 2020 Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom Together We Rise Gathering
William Blake All Religions Are One
The Importance of Interfaith Understanding Online at The Commonwealth Club
Four Lectures by Dr. Amy Jill Levine on "How Jews and Christians Read Scripture Differently"
Sponsored by the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center and the 5th Avenue Baptist Church in NYC
Based on The Bible With and Without Jesus, by Amy Jill Levine and Mark Brettler
Part 2, The Suffering Servant
Part 3, Jesus and the Jews
Part 4, The Creation
Webinars
Reviving and Maintaining Spirituality While Social Distancing sponsored by the Islamic Networks Group (ING)
The Importance of Interfaith in Terms of Social Justice, The Woolf Institute
Podcasts
Articles
"In Ancient Ur, Birthplace of Abraham, Pope Urges Peace Among Monotheistic Faiths" TOI Staff and Agencies, March 6, 2021
"Getting Closer To God Through Interfaith Work," Katy Dickinson, December 19, 2020
"Here Is The Mindset That's Tearing Us Apart," David Brooks, New York Times, October 7, 2021.
"Jews and Muslims Can Walk A Common Path - Martin Luther King, Jr. Showed Us How," Eboo Patel and Joshua Stanton, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, January 17, 2022
Books
Holy Envy: Finding God In The Faith Of Others, Barbara Brown Taylor (2020)
“The renowned and beloved New York Times bestselling author of An Altar in the World and Learning to Walk in the Dark recounts her moving discoveries of finding the sacred in unexpected places while teaching the world’s religions to undergraduates in rural Georgia, revealing how God delights in confounding our expectations.[Barbara Brown Taylor] contemplates the myriad ways other people and traditions encounter the Transcendent, both by digging deeper into those traditions herself and by seeing them through her students’ eyes as she sets off with them on field trips to monasteries, temples, and mosques.“
The Humanity of Muhammad: A Christian View, Craig Considine (2020)
“In this overview of Muhammad's life and legacy, prominent scholar Craig Considine provides a sociological analysis of Muhammad's teachings and example. Considine shows how the Prophet embraced religious pluralism, envisioned a civic nation, stood for anti-racism, advocated for seeking knowledge, initiated women's rights, and followed the Golden Rule. Considine sheds light on the side of Prophet Muhammad that is often forgotten in mainstream depictions and media narratives.”
Not In God’s Name: Confronting Religious Violence, Jonathan Sacks (2015)
“Through an exploration of the roots of violence and its relationship to religion, and employing groundbreaking biblical analysis and interpretation, Rabbi Sacks shows that religiously inspired violence has as its source misreadings of biblical texts at the heart of all three Abrahamic faiths. By looking anew at the book of Genesis, with its foundational stories of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Rabbi Sacks offers a radical rereading of many of the Bible’s seminal stories of sibling rivalry: Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers, Rachel and Leah.”
Why Can’t They Get Along? A Conversation Between a Muslim, a Jew and a Christian, Dawoud El-Alami, Dan Cohn-Sherbok, George D. Chryssides (2014)
Christians, Muslims and Jews all stem from one man, Abraham, and yet relations between them are so often strained. Three men of faith - one Jew, one Muslim and one Christian - debate the differences between them. The result is a compelling discussion: What do their faiths teach on the big issues of life? What can be done to make for better relationships in the future? What can be done on the big global areas of conflict and tension? How can they get along? For hundreds of years, many of the biggest global conflicts have been fueled by religious hatred and prejudice. It is evident, in the early part of the 21st century that not much has changed. Whether it is fundamentalist Muslims waging jihad in Afghanistan and Pakistan, or the perpetual low scale hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians, to the man in the street, religion seems to make people more likely to fight each other, not less. Why is this? Why Can't They Get Along? is a powerful and much needed account.
What Every Christian Needs to Know About The Jewishness of Jesus: A New Way of Seeing the Most Influential Rabbi in History, Rabbi Evan Moffic (2016)
Jesus wasn't a Christian. Jesus lived and died as a Jew. Understanding the Jewishness of Jesus is the secret to knowing him better and understanding his message in the twenty-first century. Walking through Jesus' life from birth to death, Rabbi Evan Moffic serves as a tour guide to give Christians a new way to look at familiar teachings and practices that are rooted in the Jewish faith and can illuminate our lives today.
The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels, Thomas Cahill (1999)
The Gifts of the Jews reveals the critical change that made western civilization possible. Within the matrix of ancient religions and philosophies, life was seen as part of an endless cycle of birth and death; time was like a wheel, spinning ceaselessly. Yet somehow, the ancient Jews began to see time differently. For them, time had a beginning and an end; it was a narrative, whose triumphant conclusion would come in the future. From this insight came a new conception of men and women as individuals with unique destinies--a conception that would inform the Declaration of Independence--and our hopeful belief in progress and the sense that tomorrow can be better than today. As Thomas Cahill narrates this momentous shift, he also explains the real significance of such Biblical figures as Abraham and Sarah, Moses and the Pharaoh, Joshua, Isaiah, and Jeremiah.
The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew - Three Women Search for Understanding, Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver,
Priscilla Warner (2006)
“The Faith Club is a memoir of spiritual reflections in three voices that will make readers feel as if they are eavesdropping on the authors' private conversations, provocative discussions, and often controversial opinions and conclusions. The authors wrestle with the issues of anti-Semitism, prejudice against Muslims, and preconceptions of Christians at a time when fundamentalists dominate the public face of Christianity”
Events
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