Today the dogs got me up a whole lot earlier than I would have liked. Because I got up early I showered early. Because I showered early I got dressed early. Because I got dressed early I was ready to go early so I left the house at 7:20am, a whole 20 minutes later than I would have liked to have gotten up. Awake and hungry I took breakfast at Panera here in Grandview and enjoyed a bagel while reading the paper. Following a story concerning the Ohio Budget to page A6 I noticed a not-so-small add featuring an everyday looking guy with the phrase "I like football too..." right above the web-address MuslimVoices.Org. Curious, when I got to work I checked it out and I was impressed with the goals and aims of this project of Indiana University.
If you follow the above link to MuslimVoices.org you have the ability to access a wonderful resource of information that seeks to replace misinformation and increase understanding amongst individuals and groups. What I really like about this site is that beyond opinion pieces about various political positions there are articles that are written for folks who want to know more about their Muslim brothers and sisters. Articles such as The Five Pillars of Islam and Do Muslims Eat Meat? are written (audio is also available) in a very accessible way. If you would like to increase your own personal awareness or would like to answer the questions of your children I would check this site out.
This summer, as both James and myself have mentioned before, we are tackling a sermon and summer theme of All God's Children which seeks to take seriously our call to be a welcoming, open church. At the center of this call is the foundation that no matter who or where we are, we are all part of this same larger family. For this reason I am going to be launching a blog-series for the remainder of the summer entitled Fight Ignorance. My goal is to present resources that help us understand people who have different faiths, cultures, or have been deemed "Other" by the church, by society or culture. My goal is not "know thy enemy" nor is it "know them so that we know how to save them.". Rather my hope is that information found in this series will help dispel ignorance and replace it with understanding so that we might be better neighbors, friends, and citizens in this world that we share.
I will write weekly on this subject. Look for next week's post Fight Ignorance - Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality.
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