Dr Edward Kessler

Theology & the Search for Common
Ground
Jesus the Jew
Geza Vermes E P Sanders

Theology & the Search for Common
Ground
The Muslim Jesus:
David Burrell:

Theology & the Search for Common
Ground
Shared Scripture
• Exegetical encounters
• Bible Study (inc Scriptural reasoning)

Theology & the Search for Common
Ground
Dialogue Theologians
Martin Buber Wilfred Cantwell Smith
(1878-1965) (1916-2000)

Theology & the Search for Common
Ground
Encounters with Islam
• A Common Word
• A Call to Dialogue

Theology & the Search for Common
Ground
Responses to the Shoah
• Antisemitism and the adversus iudaeos tradition
• Violent scripture

Organisations and Official Statements
1927
• London Society of Jews and Christians
• National Conference of Christians and Jews
NCCJ (National Conference for Community and Justice)

Organisations and Official Statements
1942 – Council of Christians and Jews
1947 – International Council of Christians and
Jews and the Ten Points of Seelisberg
1948 – World Council of Churches
• Guidelines on Dialogue with People of Living
Faiths and Ideologies, 1979

Organisations and Official Statements
1962–5 - Vatican II & Nostra Aetate

Organisations and Official Statements
• Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the
Jews (Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity)
• Pontifical statements on Jews and Judaism: 1975, 1985,
1998 and 2001.
• Dabru Emet (2000)
• The Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with
Muslims (Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue)

Organisations and Official Statements
1988 – Anglican Communion
• Jews, Christians and Muslims: the Way of Dialogue
(2002 Building Bridges; 2008 Lambeth-Jewish Forum)

Organisations and Official Statements
The 1990s
• Inter Faith Network (1987)
• 3FF (1997)
• Woolf Institute (1998)

Organisations and Official Statements:
Relations with Muslims
• Building Bridges (2002)
• Christian-Muslim Forum (2006)
• Prince Alwaleed Centres (6 centres including
Edinburgh and Cambridge, 2008)

Responses to Conflict
Zionism and the state of Israel
• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Abrahamic controversies

Responses to Conflict
• Rushdie Affair
(1988)
• ‘Northern Riots’
(2001)

Responses to Conflict
• ‘Community Cohesion’ policies (Cantle Report)
• Funding (and growth) of interfaith programmes as public policy

Responses to Conflict
• Middle East and the Arab awakening
• 9/11 and 7/7
• The rise of social media

• Islamophobia, antisemitism and anti-Christian attitudes;
• religious extremism and political radicalisation

Is the Dream of Interfaith Dialogue
Dying?
• Seeking common ground but not managing difference
• Running out of steam
• Single interest groups

Seeking ‘Genuine’ Interfaith
Encounters
• Embracing difference
(Sacks)
• Responding to austerity and localism

Seeking ‘Genuine’ Interfaith
Encounters
• Multi-disciplinary
• Secular reality
• Constructive interfaith tension