At present, there is some teaching among TEIs on dialogue with members of religions other than Christianity. But there are also questions surrounding how to prioritize it within a program of ministerial training and how to teach it as well as possible. This project builds on previous research into the integration of teaching on interfaith dialogue into ministerial education, and upon theological reflection that has already been directed to the motivation behind and dynamics of dialogue, in order to explore the applicability of Scriptural Reasoning within TEIs.
The project deals with issues that are relevant to all of the Christian sub-traditions, and it has a special focus on evangelicalism and questions related to dialogue that are especially pressing within institutions affiliated with that part of the larger tradition. The research attempts to specify what the relationship is between the Christian’s drive to be a witness to the God in whom she places her faith and, on the other hand, the sort of openness to learning and being stretched beyond what one already knows that is the presupposition of any two-way communicative exchange.
The research has a reflective, theoretical component, which considers the interconnection of the concepts of witness and openness, and seeks to specify how they relate in the context of Scriptural Reasoning. It also has a practical aspect, which aims to investigate how ministerial students think about interfaith discussions, and how their attitudes are affected by learning about dialogue and being given an opportunity to take part in it.
The final part of the project is to give attention to the present state of teaching on other religions and interfaith discussions at TEIs and to pursue further some of the hanging questions that have resulted from previous projects on this topic.
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