Muslim, Christian, Jew seek understanding

Bookclub book by Karen? About 2008?? ( )

"The Faith Club" is a memoir of spiritual reflections in three voices that will make readers feel as if they are eavesdropping on the authors' private conversations, provocative discussions, and often controversial opinions and conclusions. The authors wrestle with the issues of anti-Semitism, prejudice against Muslims, and preconceptions of Christians at a time when fundamentalists dominate the public face of Christianity. They write beautifully and affectingly of their families, their losses and grief, their fears and hopes for themselves and their loved ones. And as the authors reveal their deepest beliefs, readers watch the blossoming of a profound interfaith friendship and the birth of a new way of relating to others. ~Goodreads

Reading again for our bookclub ( )

I was frankly amazed at the preconceptions and misinformation that the co-authors had about one another's religions at the start of the book. The depth of ignorance -- and the accidental insults caused by that ignorance -- took me aback. But the decision they made to overcome that ignorance and to communicate openly with one another plus their willingness to give each other (repeated) lessons in Respecting Others' Religions 101 were what makes the book worth reading.

If you are already fairly knowledgeable about religions-not-your-own and aware of the way (Protestant) Christianity permeates/dominates culture in the US, you may find this book a bit remedial, like I did. But for those who haven't been exposed to multiple religious points of view or who have never been in a position to comfortably and non-intrusively ask questions of practitioners of other faiths, I think this book may provide a decent starting point. ( )