LIVING ROOM God Our Stranger: Why our faith, devotion & practice can't thrive without "the other"

Wednesday, January 13, 2009

6 pm Doors, 7 pm Program

Intersections, 274 5th Ave
Btwn 29th and 30th Sts
New York, NY 10001

With Samir Selmanovic

Through the media, in our workplaces, and even in our families, the stranger has come close. Now, the other is not “out there.” They have moved into our physical, intellectual and emotional neighborhoods. We are confronted not only with a new view of those we used to consider “outsiders,” but with a new view of ourselves. We will explore the reasons why the stranger has an exulted status in ancient religious writings. Is it simply because religion teaches us virtue, or do the reasons go much deeper? And what does that have to do with our daily lives in the city?  This will be a mid-week evening of respite with texts, a talk by author Samir Selmanovic, discussion, and music.

Samir Selmanovic, Ph.D., author of It's Really All About God: Reflections of a Muslim Atheist Jewish Christian, is founder and Christian co-leader of Faith House Manhattan. Samir is also the director of a Christian community in New York City called Citylights and serves on the Interfaith Relations commission of the National Council of Churches and speaks nationally and internationally.