wfn.org | ANGLICAN BISHOP OFFERS NEW HOPES FOR REDUCING RELIGIOUS STRIFE

[Audrey Whitefield <a.whitefield@quest.org.uk>]

Title:
Oct. 21, 1997 
ANGLICAN COMMUNION NEWS SERVICE
Canon Jim Rosenthal, Director of Communications
Anglican Communion Office
London, England

[97.10.2.7]

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ANGLICAN BISHOP OFFERS NEW HOPES FOR REDUCING RELIGIOUS STRIFE

(Anglican Church of Canada)  Canadian Anglican bishop, Michael Ingham,
whose theological studies and travels have taken him to India, China,
Israel, Great Britain, Europe, and the United States has written a
startling new book to show how Christians and people of other faiths can
work toward mutual understanding and acceptance, and advance the cause
of world peace.  Setting out a concept whose time has come, Bishop
Ingham's straight-forward book challenges the long-held Christian belief
that only faith in Jesus Christ can lead to spiritual salvation. Bishop
Michael Ingham is Bishop of New Westminster, British Columbia in Canada.

In Mansions of the Spirit: The Gospel in a Multi-Faith World, Bishop
Ingham explains how faith in Jesus Christ would be better served if
Christians searched for truth in other faiths as well as in their own. 
Western nations, including Canada, were once considered almost
exclusively Christian, with minorities very much in the background. 
Similarly, most regions in the world are now challenged daily with a
cultural diversity that they may not have experienced before.  Too often
these cultural mixes spark discord and violence. In Bishop Ingham's
view, cultural diversity offers and tremendous opportunity for learning
and spiritual growth.

"The inter-faith movement is expanding globally.  This says to me that
people of many faiths are recognising that they must look beyond their
own beliefs to other people's religions and life choices for
illumination," says Bishop Ingham.  "The stakes are high.  We can opt
for world peace, with people of diverse religions working together for
better understanding and acceptance, or we can succumb to suspicion,
intolerance, and violence."

The Book is published in Canada by the Anglican Book Centre, 600 Jarvis
Street, Toronto, Ontario M4Y 2J6. It is distributed in the UK by
Canterbury Press Norwich, and in the USA by Forward Movement
Publications.