Jan 14 2011 10:00AM
Former Bishop of Oxford (1987-2006), Professor Lord Harries of Pentregarth, spoke on inter-faith issues at a special lecture entitled ‘Christianity and Islam in the Modern World’ organised by UCS in conjunction with the Suffolk Inter-Faith Resource Centre (SIFRE).
Lord Harries, also a regular contributor to BBC’s Today programme, addressed around 120 attendees during the lecture held at the UCS Waterfront Building in Ipswich on Thursday 13 January.
Following his retirement in 2006, Lord Harries was made a Life Peer (Lord Harries of Pentregarth) and he continues to be active in the House of Lords. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the author of a number of books on the interface of Christian faith and has been involved in inter-faith issues for many years. As well as having been Chairman of the Council of Christians and Jews, he founded the Oxford Abrahamic Group, bringing Jewish, Christian and Muslim thinkers together.
Speaking on BBC Radio Suffolk's Rob Dunger Sunday breakfast show, Lord Harries explained why he wanted to explore how the two faiths shared values.
"I want to move on to give some principles about how Christians and Muslims can relate to each other," he said.
"It's very important to say that dialogue between religions doesn't just take place between theologians or church leaders. It takes place whenever two people are chatting at the bus stop or the newsagents.”
"If you move away from 'nice weather' to more serious things, that's when religious dialogue happens, any respectful serious conversation. It's an attempt to understand one another's position better, to avoid the stereotypes and to build up common ground."
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