Living Conversations
Our Vision
We affirm the presence of God in the faith and life of persons in other traditions. We can be open to the diverse ways of being human and recognize that there are diverse possibilities for our own lives. We can be sensitive to persons in other cultures and try to see the world from their point of view, even though we can never totally leave behind our cultural assumptions. We can take a confessional approach and testify to what has happened in our own lives, without passing judgment on others. Loyalty to our own tradition can be combined with respect for other traditions. We desire a genuine dialogue and mutual learning about how God is at work in our lives.
Thus, our vision for this forum is to have a real, honest, respectful conversation about God and spirituality. Without debating or trying to persuade one another, we’d like to simply share with and listen to each other for deeper understanding and appreciation of the others. This is certainly not about scoring points for our respective traditions or coming to some kind of a binding consensus. We desire simply that at the end we will have listened deeply to one other and thought deeply about our common plight in this world and our common faith in the Divine.
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A Monthly Gathering @ the home of Julius Nam in Loma Linda, California
Upcoming Gathering
May 30, 2008 (Fri), 6:30-9pm ~ Guest: Michael Manning, Roman Catholic priest and host of a weekly syndicated TV show on TBN. Theme: Catholicism.
Past Gatherings
January 26, 2007 (Fri), 7-9pm ~ Guest: Brian Bascom, stake president for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Theme: Mormonism.
February 23, 2007 (Fri), 7-9pm ~ Guest: Shyam Aiyar, 2nd year doctor of physical theraphy student at Loma Linda University. Theme: Scientology.
March 9, 2007 (Fri), 7-9pm ~ Guests: Michael Campbell, Alexander Carpenter, Bonnie Dwyer, Larry Kirkpatrick, Johnny Ramirez-Johnson. Theme: Diversity in Adventism. Guest Moderator: Lindsay Bautista.
May 18, 2007 (Fri), 6:30-9pm ~ Guest: Mustafa Kuko, director of the Islamc Center of Riverside. Theme: Islam. Guest Moderators: Sarah Allen and Timothy Wieg.
August 24, 2007 (Fri), 6:30-9pm ~ Guests: Kendra Haloviak, Jon Paulien, Leslie Pollard, Sigve Tonstad. Theme: Reading Revelation. Guest Moderator: Johnny A. Ramirez.
October 19, 2007 (Fri), 6:30-9:00pm ~ Guest: Yvonne Conway, national information officer for the Covenant of the Goddess. Theme: Wicca.
November 9, 2007 (Fri), 6:30-9:00pm ~ Guest: Richard Rice and David Larson, professors of religion at Loma Linda University School of Religion. Theme: Exploring Open Theism: Why God Might Not Know Everything There Is to Know. Guest Moderator: Trisha Famisaran.
December 7, 2007 (Fri), 6:30-9pm ~ Guest: Miao Hsi, outreach coordinator for Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Height, California. Theme: Buddhism. Guest Moderators: Isaac Kim and Jared Wright.
January 18, 2008 (Fri), 6:30-9pm ~ Guest: Firuz Kazemzadeh, professor emeritus of history, Yale University. Theme: Baha’i.
February 29, 2008 (Fri), 6:30-9pm ~ Guest: Douglas Kohn, rabbi at Congregation Emanu El, San Bernardino, California. Theme: Judaism. Guest Moderator: Nathan Blue.
March 14, 2008 (Fri), 6:30-9pm ~ Guest: Daniel Giang (professor of neurology, Loma Linda University School of Medicine) and Sigve Tonstad (assistant professor of religion, Loma Linda University School of Religion). Theme: Neuroscience and Theology. Guest Moderator: Brian Savino.