Tuesday, November 25, 2008

A rabbi, a priest, and a minister...

I broke my fast from religious news yesterday. Thanks to God's infinite grace and good humor the top commentary on David Gibson's blog was titled, "What is the point of interfaith dialogue?" John L. Allen titled his column, "Interreligious dialogue impossible, pope says, but intercultural dialogue good."

Being me, I immediately envisioned the Vatican's repeal of the Nostra aetate document. Turns out B16 is trying to make a point about shifting the focus of interfaith dialogue from apologetics to practical matters of mutual concern -- like world peace.

I'm thinking we should switch to interfaith stand-up.

More specifically, I'm suggesting that religious leaders sponsor open mike nights at local comedy clubs. Just a guess, but I think interfaith dialogue would go a lot better if our conversations started with this venerable invocation: "a rabbi, a priest, and a minister were in a row boat..."

Amen?