Lectures in Radical Christian Faith - the latest series

In October 2000 we inaugurated an annual series of open lectures by leading speakers, to challenge and search out faith at the limits. We were particularly concerned to reach out to those who have felt it necessary to leave the Church (with a large C) because they could not accept some traditional doctrines held by many.  The first seven series were entitled simply Lectures in Radical Christian Faith. However, in 2007 the focus was on Dialogues in Faith with followers of other religions, and this is being repeated in 2010.  The scope of the various lecture series can be seen by looking at Previous Lectures.

2010  The eleventh series: Dialogues in Faith

Is there a true faith?  Is there one God, or do we all have our own?
How should people of different faiths relate to one another?
Why does religion often seem to divide rather than reconcile people?
Does religion have anything relevant to say to modern society?

Does your faith make you think?
Are you challenged by what other people believe?
Is your sacred ground exclusively owned?
Do you own your prejudices?
Do you have more questions than answers?
Then the Carrs Lane Dialogues In Faith ARE FOR YOU!

This series will be four evenings with a different format from the usual lectures. The focus will be on talking together with Hindus and Sikhs about the relationship between their faiths and Christianity. Each event will begin with a short presentation by the speaker, followed by dialogue with the Chair, Revd Dr John M Parry, and then with the audience.

John Parry is on the staff of Northern College, Manchester. He is now a minister of the United Reformed Church, though was originally ordained into the Church of Bangladesh. His field is Missiology and World Faiths, primarily Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism, thanks mainly to experiences of work in Bangladesh and Southall in West London. John has contributed to a number of publications and is author of The Word of God is Not Bound (Centre for Contemporary Christianity, Bangalore), a history of the encounter of Sikhs and Christians in India and the UK.

Thursday 7th October  -  Shaunaka Rishi Das

‘Hindu Perceptions of God’

Shaunaka Rishi Das is Director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, an Independent Centre of the University of Oxford, and founder and trustee of Bhaktivedanta College, Belgium. He has practised as a Vaishnava priest since 1982 and has been a member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness since 1979. He is Convenor of ISKCON's Interfaith Commission and has served as an executive member of the Interfaith Network UK and as Chairman of the Northern Ireland Interfaith Forum. He is also a broadcaster and lecturer.

Thursday 14th October  -  Dr Sharada Sugirtharajah

‘Living as a Hindu in Twenty-first Century Britain’

Sharada Sugirtharajah is Senior Lecturer in Hindu Studies in the School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion at the University of Birmingham. Her research interests include colonialism and religion, women and spirituality, religious pluralism, and diasporic Hinduism. Her publications include chapters in edited volumes, journal articles, entries in reference works, and contributions to resource packs on Hinduism. She is the author of Imagining Hinduism: A Postcolonial Perspective (Routledge, 2003).

Thursday 21st October  -  Dr Indarjit Singh CBE, JP

‘Sikh Perceptions of God’

Indarjit Singh is a nationally recognised journalist and broadcaster and a regular contributor to the BBC’s Thought for the Day. He is Editor of The Sikh Messenger. In 1989 he became the first non-Christian to be awarded the UK Templeton Prize ‘for the furtherance of spiritual and ethical understanding’. In 1991 he received the Inter-faith Medallion for services to religious broadcasting. He was appointed OBE in 1996 and CBE in January 2008.

Thursday 28th October  -  Charanjit Ajit Singh

‘Living as a Sikh in Twenty-first Century Britain’

Charanjit Ajit Singh is Chair of the International Interfaith Centre, Oxford and one of the Vice Presidents of the World Congress of Faiths. She lectures internationally and has contributed to many publications, including the book Wisdom of Sikhism, (One World Publishers, Oxford). She has experience in voluntary work in community cohesion and equalities and inter-faith matters. She is a radio and TV broadcaster.

The lectures run from 6.00pm to 7.30pm, including time for questions and discussion.

Tickets £5 per lecture - pay at the door. This includes coffee or tea, and biscuits, before the lecture.

CD recordings can be ordered; the cost will be £6 per session CD.