The INTRAfaith Conversation: How Do Christians Talk Among Ourselves About INTERfaith Matters for Saturday, 18 February 2017 from The ProgressiveChristianity.org in Gig Harbor, Washington, United States “A unique and valuable resource for Christians (and others) engaged in interfaith dialogue”.

 The INTRAfaith Conversation: How Do Christians Talk Among Ourselves About INTERfaith Matters for Saturday, 18 February 2017 from The ProgressiveChristianity.org in Gig Harbor, Washington, United States “A unique and valuable resource for Christians (and others) engaged in interfaith dialogue”.

"INTERfaith dialogue is challenging enough, but INTRAfaith conversations are even more so." Linda Crawford, Executive Director,
Interfaith Center at the Presidio

........As our nation struggles to learn how to talk with one
........another across our inter-political divisions, I have
........recognized that the necessary process is a lot like the
........one we use for our inter-Christian dialogue. When we
........learn how to have intrafaith conversations, we are
........better able to take our experience into the political arena.
What Is the INTRAfaith Conversation?
What is an intrafaith conversation and how is it different from an interfaith one?
The simplest way to explain it is that the prefix matters.
Inter means between, among, in the midst of, mutually, reciprocally, together.
So interfaith is different religions being together.
On the other hand, intra means within, inside, on the inside.
Intrafaith is one religion examining just itself in light of its interfaith experience.
We need both!
Graduate Theological Union professor Judith Berling explains it as two poles of interreligious learning:
1) understanding another religion faithfully, and
2) reappropriating Christian tradition in light of new understandings and relationships.
John S. Dunne, in The Way of All the Earth calls it the spiritual adventure of our time:
“What seems to be occurring is a phenomenon we might call ‘passing over,’ passing from one culture to another, from one way of life to another, from one religion to another. Passing over is a shifting of standpoint, a going over to the standpoint of another culture, another way of life, another religion (interfaith -italics mine). It is followed by an equal and opposite process we might call ‘coming back,’ coming back with new insight to one’s own culture, one’s own way of life, one’s own religion. . ." (intrafaith).
“Passing over and coming back, it seems, is the spiritual adventure of our time.”
I agree! Come, join the adventure!
Susan M. Strouse
Doctor of Ministry

This is an important book for our times. It will be essential reading for all people of faith and those in our country who experience spirituality outside the faiths. Strouse explores what it means for Christians to dialogue together with the beliefs of other world religions, with other denominations and within one's church. This book ushers us step by step into a process towards unity of love and respect that enables us to discover how to live the love in which we believe as well as to evolve from a rote worshipper to a discerning believer. She shows how Christians can accept and respect beliefs of others, find common ground and evolve in our own faith expression to prevent exclusionary or irrelevant evangelism.
5.0 out of 5 stars - A unique and valuable resource for Christians (and others) engaged in interfaith dialogue by D. Andrew Kille May 27, 2016
Inevitably, profound questions arise out of respectful encounters with people of religions other than our own. Many who have been involved in cooperative engagements with people of other faith traditions discover that it is often easier to talk with people of a different religion than it is with the person sitting next to you in your own congregation. For others, the struggle is within, as in the case of Elsie L., a parishioner in Buffalo. After a church session in which a Hindu woman active in interfaith activities had spoken to the group, Elsie spoke to Pastor Strouse. “If I accept the Hindu path as equal to Christianity,” she said, “I’m worried that I’m betraying Jesus.”
Years of wrestling with that question and similar ones resulted in Strouse’s new book, The INTRAfaith Conversation: How Do Christians Talk Among Ourselves about INTERfaith Matters? In it, Dr. Strouse addresses the challenges that the increasingly interfaith realities of today present to Christians, and invites reflection on how Christian theology and identity might be shaped and even strengthened by cooperative interfaith relationships.
Blending personal stories, thoughtful reflection on the changing face of America and pastoral concern, The INTRAfaith Conversation invites readers to understand and appreciate just what doing Christian theology means in today’s multi-religious world. The book’s sections reflect the breadth of Strouse’s focus: dealing with the new religious context; what it means to think theologically as a community; tolerance, exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism; personal experience; and pastoral and leadership issues for congregations entering the interfaith world.
The book is designed to be used with a discussion group; each section is followed by a series of questions for reflection and discussion along with suggestions for further reading.
I personally have been involved in interfaith work in the Bay Area for over 35 years and have never seen a book quite like The INTRAfaith Conversation. It addresses a very real issue with depth, humor, and pastoral sensitivity. I highly recommend it not only to pastors and other leaders in Christian churches, but to lay people who may be asking some of the same questions. Further, although it is specifically aimed at a Christian audience, it offers a model for how similar questions might be raised and wrestled with in non-Christian contexts as well.
About the Author

Pastor Susan Strouse is a native of Pottstown, PA (near Philadelphia) and is a graduate of Antioch University/Philadelphia (B.A. in Human Services) and the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg (Master of Divinity).
She has previously served congregations in Buffalo, NY and Novato, CA. She has been at First United Lutheran Church in San Francisco since December 2004. In 2005 she received a Doctor of Ministry degree from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley. Her area of study and interest is interfaith theology, particularly working with congregations and clergy to explore the meaning of being a Christian in our religiously diverse world. She served as the Interim Executive Director of the Interfaith Center at the Presidio in 2011-2012.
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