The Gift of Responsibility

After September 11 2001, new questions about the roles of religion in our culture began to emerge.  At the forefront of such discussions were questions related to Islam and various interpretations of that faith.  Were all Muslims terrorists? Could a good Muslim be a good American?  Such comments about Islam raised even more questions about Judaism and Christianity and their ability to engage fruitfully in conversations with other religions. Could Christians, Jews and Muslims sit down and talk responsibly - without calling each other names - about their respective faiths and their roles in the modern world? What would it take for such a conversation to occur?


In his thoughtful and provocative book, The Gift of Responsibility, Lewis S. Mudge attempts to provide some tentative answers to these and other questions. Mudge urges Christian, Jews and Muslims to join resources to resist the destructive economic and political forces now on the loose across the globe. The distrust among these three faiths has often intensified some of these destructive forces as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan demonstrate. What is now called for, says Mudge, is a mutual dialogue among the three religions fostered and governed by respect and responsibility. 

The Gift of Responsibility offers a model for Judaism, Christianity and Islam to imitate as they are called to practice moral hospitality and covenantal humanism in order to foster justice and responsibility in societies around the globe.