SKEPTIMERGENT

Welcome to the beginning of a collaboration between various people called “SKEPTIMERGENT.”  This dialogue began as a chat between myself, Rob Davis (who coined the title), Jeff Straka, Doug Pagitt, Victoria Peterson-Hilleque, and Chris Hill, and ended up as a Patheos blog.  I have long been interested in building bridges between those in the unbelieving community (atheists, agnostics, humanists, skeptics, naturalists, etc.) and liberal religious persons, and as such, I jumped at the chance to be involved in a conversation with those in the “Emergent” milieu and those at the Emergent Village blog.

I recently was hosted on the Doug Pagitt radio show a couple of times (see here and here), and the discussions I had with Doug and Victoria aided in my desire to participate in this project.  I found both of them (along with Brian McLaren who I met a couple months back) to be welcoming and cordial to their new “token atheist.”  I have also been influenced by seeing my advisor, Philip Clayton, involved in conversations surrounding the “Emergent Church” and the ways in which contemporary forms of Christianity relate to the broader cultural shifts taking place in the West.

So without further ado, here are some of the “purposes” of SKEPTIMERGENT that Rob and I came up with:

SKEPTIMERGENT:

• Is a collaborative blog that focuses on the relationships between atheism/skepticism/agnosticism/humanism and the “emergent conversation.”

• Exists to encourage critical, open dialogue between the religious and the non-religious.

• Is a small part of a much larger conversation happening in homes, coffee shops, bars, at conferences, and via social media.

• Is about exploring the new ways in which unbelievers and progressive religious persons orient themselves.

• Is ultimately about building friendships and deepening dialogue amongst a diverse group of people.

• Seeks to better the world by enlivening and re-enchanting discourse between unbelievers and religious persons.

Are you all ready to help us build a robust dialogue between those in the “Emergent Movement” and those in the unbelieving community?