December 2011

Contents

Items with links can be viewed and downloaded in a printable PDF version. To use the PDF version you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader which can be downloaded absolutely free from http://www.adobe.com.

| editorial |
Overcoming Greed, Dishonesty and Delusion
Kamran Mofid

| creative encounters |
What is Atonement?
Paul Knitter

Another Turn on the Axis
religious and spiritual evolution in the 21st century
Jim Kenney

Religious Diversity and EvangelicalThought Post-1980s
Robert Boyd

“There is No Enemy; None is the Other”
promoting Sikh-Christian mutuality
Christian van Gorder

The Mirror That Is Not Ground
Thomas Merton’s dialogue with Zen
Michelle Rebidoux

| practically speaking |
Hope for Christians and Muslims
Richard Tetlow

Doing Inter Faith reflections from the frontline
Riaz Ravat

| focus on the interreligious movement |
Toward a More Tolerant Society
can we overcome religious prejudice?
Peter Storey

| in review |
ReviewsReview Article: An Integral Approach to Religion and the Divine

| poetry |
Be a Guiding Light
Baha’i Prayer, Persia

In the Beginning (an excerpt)
Jane Barnes

| prayers and meditation |
Blessed!
Martha Bartholomew

The Beauty We Love
Jalalud’din Rumi

The Four Evangelists

Sculptor Sophie Dickens’ powerful work “The Four Evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John” is on exhibition in London’s Southwark Cathedral. The symbolic images of the Four Evangelists are related to two sources in the Christian Bible, Revelation (4:5-11) and Ezekiel (1:1-14). The Book of Revelation describes in detail the “four living creatures” surrounding the throne of God – full of eyes in front and
behind:

– the first living creature like a lion
– the second living creature like an ox,
– the third living creature with a face like a human face
– the fourth living creature like a flying eagle.

The four sculptures are designed to form a protective zone with their wings, like guardians. These images have endured over the centuries. They came in time to represent the four books of the Christian gospels: the lion representing Mark, the ox Matthew, the human being Luke, and the eagle being John. The images have been reproduced in Christian art, on the walls of churches and Cathedrals, on the front cover of books, and as illustrations in countless other ways. These sculptures are the latest in a long line of succession.

(The photos are by Alan Race.)