Monday, May 14, 2007

In Salem: A gathering of Christians, Wiccans, and Atheists

Christians and atheists start a calmer dialogue

I've blogged about Phil Wyman before (1,2). I really like his focus on outreach:

..."I've never understood treating a people group as [the enemy] because their belief system is different," says Phil Wyman, pastor of The Gathering, a Salem church that sponsored the conference...

More and more people are seeing the value of a 'can't we all just get along' attitude:

...a few people on both sides are finding calmer ways to engage, seeking to build bridges and even learn from one another...So both are willing to sit down together in different venues, discuss their divergent perspectives, and, in some cases, jointly visit church services across the United States. As a result, they are sparking a growing Christian-atheist dialogue on the Web...At a conference in Salem, Mass., last Saturday, for example, Christians from several states listened to atheists and neopagans talk about who they are, the origin of their ethics and beliefs, and what challenges they encounter in a society that is predominantly Christian...

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