Dialogue Quotes

“I strongly feel that it is only when there is a deep understanding of one's own religious beliefs and commitments that progress can be made in achieving true understanding and respect for the religious values and beliefs of others. Engaging in interfaith dialogue does not in any way mean undermining one's own faith or religious tradition. Indeed, interfaith dialogue is constructive only when people become firmly grounded in their own religious traditions and through that process gain a willingness to listen and respect the beliefs of other religions. (by Cilliers, Ch. 3, p. 48-49)”

“Many of the traditional approaches to interfaith dialogue have assumed that it can be successful only if agreements are reached about amorphous concepts and themes that various traditions may have in common. These approaches have also assumed that participants have to "weaken" or "compromise" elements of their own faith... this is not necessarily constructive for engaging in interfaith understanding and dialogue. It is only when participants have a deep understanding of their own religious traditions and are willing to learn and recognize the richness of other religious traditions that constructive cooperation can take place between groups from different faiths. (by Cilliers, Ch. 3, p. 57-58)”

“Democracy is about the dialogue”

“Quality storytelling inspires quality dialogue.”

“Dialogue can help you find out if you’ve been brainwashed or not.”

“Dialogue helps us to acknowledge that we see the world not as it is, but as we are.”

“Dialogue reminds us that we can question to build, not only to doubt or deconstruct.”

“Dialogue is about creating awareness through self-observation; it starts from the inside out, not the outside in.”

“Dialogue teaches you to listen through your emotions, not to become distracted or distanced from the truth because of them.”