I think this will be the last entry about my week at “Epiphany Explorations”. I want to share with you a bit from one of the final speakers. I found her most engaging. Chung Hyun Kyung is a Korean Christian theologian and is an Associate Professor of Ecumenical Theology at Union Theological Seminary in the United States. Professor Chung's teaching and research interests include feminist and eco-feminist theologies and spiritualities from Asia, Africa and Latin America; Christian-Buddhist dialogue; Zen meditation; approaches to disease and healing in varied religious backgrounds; mysticism and revolutionary social change; Goddesses and women’s liberation in Asia; interfaith peacemaking; as well as the history and critical issues of various ecumenical theologies. Phew – that’s makes me tired just reading it.

Listening to her speak was anything but tiring. It was inspiring. She is an engaging, gentle and humorous presenter. Her first lecture highlighted her research as she traveled and met with Muslim women in 17 different Muslim countries. It was fascinating. But it was her second lecture that stole my heart. She talked about her own personal journey. She is a baptized and devoted Christian but during a time of personal struggle she found herself drawn to talk with a Buddhist Master. In those conversations she came to draw more and more strength from the Buddhist style of worship and theology. Eventually she committed herself to a year in the study of Buddhism and as a result became a Buddhist. Let me be clear she did not leave behind her Christian faith. She describes herself as a “Double-Belonger’ meaning she is both Christian and Buddhist.

She proposed that as our culture becomes more and more inter-racial, inter-cultural and inter-faith people will draw on and include in their belief structure many different faith perspectives. Chung was quite adamant that one could not “cherry-pick” just the good from this one and that one, asserting that it is necessary to commit to a faith. Nonetheless, she acknowledged that there is much good in every faith and people do have the capability to be, as she put it, omni-faith, meaning taking strength from many different faiths.

It is an interesting perspective. Do you think there is room in your Christian faith to recognize and adopt some of the practices from other religious beliefs? If so how would you live that out?