WASHINGTON (ABP) — Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, is joining other prominent religious leaders as a panelist for a Washington Post/Newsweek online forum on faith issues.
Walker's thoughts will appear alongside those of a Holocaust survivor, a Wiccan leader, an evolutionary biologist and an Islamic rock star, among others, in the “On Faith” forum, hosted on both publications' websites.
The forum is meant to provide an arena for “sane and spirited talk” about faith “in a way that sheds light rather than generates heat,” according to the site. Each week, the panelists answer a question posed to provoke thought and discussion about the implications of faith and religion in public life. Readers are then able to comment on what panelists say and offer topics for future questions.
Walker, a minister and lawyer who leads the Baptist Joint Committee to promote separation of church and state and religious freedom, joins more than 90 other theologians, evangelists, clerics and others on the panel.
Baptists already in the group include Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission; Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Gardner Taylor, pastor emeritus of the Concord Baptist Church in Brooklyn, N.Y.; American Baptist pastor and Newsweek consultant Willis Elliott; Welton Gaddy, the Baptist leader of the Interfaith Alliance; and best-selling author and Southern Baptist pastor Rick Warren.
Newsweek's managing editor, Jon Meacham, and journalist Sally Quinn moderate the website, http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/.
Walker posted his first opinion piece Sept. 11, in response to a question concerning religious extremists.
“Our goal should be the greatest amount of religious freedom and zero tolerance for violence in the name of religion,” Walker wrote. “There is little doubt that the vast majority of the world's religions are centrally and historically rooted in the teachings associated with love and respect for humanity. In light of this reality and on the anniversary of 9/11, let us be reminded that we all can find common ground if we strive to find it.”
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