In the little West Texas town of Sunray, around the year 1960, nearly half the population, including myself, claimed some connection to the Baptist church. Other houses of worship included Methodist, Church of Christ, Assembly of God, and a couple of Pentecostal congregations. There was also a handful of Catholics and a good number of run-of-the-mill, unchurched sinners (as opposed to the rest of us "churched" sinners).
I don't know how much has changed in Sunray since I left nearly forty years ago, but here in Houston, things are different. One cannot go about daily life without interacting with Hindus, Muslims, Jews, and Buddhists, as well as Christians, athiests, and representatives of every other religion on the face of the earth.
For the most part, we get along pretty well. We mind our own business and praise our indifference, calling it "tolerance." But from time to time something happens that the staunchest indifference cannot tolerate, and genuine ignorance, misunderstanding, fear, and even hatred emerge from the shadows behind rare rays of just-as-genuine faith, hope, and love.
This magazine is intended as a step beyond tolerence toward understanding. We do not intend to pretend there are no differences between religions, but we do intend to write thoughtfully and accurately about both the points of divergence and convergence. This matter of interfaith relations needs no more misinformation or irrational blather.
The initial issue, which you are now reading, focuses on three monotheistic religions that share some common roots and face some common challenges in the current religious and political atmosphere. We begin with "Dabru Emet," a statement on Christianity published by a group of Jewish scholars. This is followed by articles on the unique threats posed by skepticism and gullibility in religion.
Please send your responses to these articles to manysons@mail.com. We will publish as many of your emails as we can in the next issue. Also, if you would like your house of worship or your business to sponsor these pages, please contact us at manysons@mail.com . Your sponsorship will be prominantly displayed on the first page, and it will allow us to get rid of the other advertizing on the site.
Herschel E. Moore, Editor
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