by Dr.Robert

Created on: November 03, 2010

It is important to start a meaningful inter-religious dialog by discussing a common point in both religions. You can do this by “building bridges” from your religion connecting to another persons religion. I believe that all religions overlap in some small way or another, mainly in the aspect of morality. For instance most religions have rules that the followers must abide by. In Christianity you have the Ten Commandments. In Buddhism you have The Ten precepts, and the 8-fold path. In Islam you have the Five Pillars etc. Start with these rules and beliefs, and continue the conversation likewise. There are also many other ways you can build bridges. A bridge that I have used to connect Islam and Christianity is one of God (Allah) and the prophets that Christians and Muslims share. Much of the Qur'an and the Old Testament of the bible have similar thoughts. Building bridges is an excellent way to communicate in an inter-religious dialog.

Respect the other persons religion. Respect is not the same thing as belief. If you respect what I have to say about Christianity you do not have to believe it. During the conversation keep your mind clear and respect what they other has to say. If you do not have respect for another persons religion before you enter into the dialog it does not matter what they say. You won't be interested, but by respecting the other person you have opened yourself up to learn about their religion. You also need to respect their beliefs and customs.

If you can keep an open mind, and treat the discussion with awareness than you will discover new truth about the same piece of material. That is something I am learning about Christianity. The more I read over a passage of scriptures in my studies the more truths are revealed about the passage. Even after fifty times of studying the same passage you can still find knew truths and perspectives, so keep an open mind and accepting ears and listen intently on what the other person has to say even if it is the hundredth time you've heard it, because you never know when you might learn something new.

Religions have different sects. Christianity is divided into three major sects: Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant. People from these sects are much different from each other, and have varying beliefs on multiple subjects. In Buddhism the two major sects are Theravada and Mahayana. The main difference is that Theravada Buddhist believe that only monks may reach nirvana (enlightenment), and Mahayana

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