91短视频

After Sept. 11, The Rev. Steven D. Martin found himself the subject of much interest. Suddenly every public television station was scrambling for material on Muslims, and his first major film project was the only sympathetic piece available.

His notoriety as interpreter and interlocutor quickly grew beyond his 100-person Tennessee congregation.

Martin, now for the , visited 91短视频 last week to talk about both his filmmaking work, its deeply personal effect on his understanding of humanity, and a new interfaith initiative called 鈥�.鈥� He works from an office on Capital Hill in Washington D.C., where he represents a wide spectrum of Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Evangelical, historic African American and Living Peace churches from more than 100,000 local congregations in communities across the nation.

Martin spoke at a seminary service, hosted a luncheon on interfaith engagement in the United States, and showed his 2005 film, 鈥淭heologians Under Hitler鈥� in a visit that was co-sponsored by the (CIE) and E.

‘Loving enemies’

Martin is 鈥渁 man who loves deep conversation, but also uses humor and sarcasm to soften the blow of living in such a broken world,鈥� said Bex Simmerman, a CIE research assistant who has been Martin’s friend and mentee for a decade.

She introduced Martin for his seminary sermon titled 鈥淟oving Enemies,鈥� which asked piercing questions about Christian America’s relationship with American Muslims.

鈥淔or centuries, Muslims and Christians have been enemies. Why?鈥� Martin asks. 鈥淔rom the time of the Crusades and even before then, they have been them.鈥� Martin related this to the teachings of Matthew 5, in which Jesus instructs his listeners to 鈥渓ove your enemy.鈥�

He shared how his first major film project caused him to reevaluate those he had been taught were his enemies.

鈥淭his was a process of falling in love with people,鈥� Martin explained. He began interviewing Knoxville-area Muslims, trying to understand their lives and place in the largely Christian South. But he ended merely interviewing people whose humanity he admired.

That transition of perspective gave him a new lens with which to read Matthew 5, and he invited those listening in the seminary to apply it to their own lives.

鈥淲hether [the interaction is] Muslim 鈥� Christian, Muslim 鈥� Jew, Christian 鈥� Jew, neighbor who likes dogs 鈥� neighbor who doesn’t like dogs, Republican 鈥� Democrat, alt-right 鈥� alt-left, corporate 鈥� Native American tribe,鈥� said Martin, 鈥渨e as followers of Jesus must engage in acts of love and kindness, and it can’t be faked. It can’t be feigned; it can’t be done with an ulterior motive. It must be done at our own risk.鈥�

Connecting with others

Martin also talked about 鈥�,鈥� an initiative born at a White House convention on religious pluralism. Concerned about the recent rise in anti-Muslim rhetoric, member organizations have created religious resources and toolkits to help facilitate learning about other faiths, including how to organize a town hall meeting and host a “speed faithing” event.

, CIE interim director,appreciated Martin鈥檚 point that we are challenged to find people 鈥渄ifferent from you鈥� to engage with.

鈥淭his is why it’s important to find other ways to connect,鈥� says Nussbaum. She shares Martin鈥檚 opinion that 91短视频 is one of those places 鈥渨here theologians and practitioners come together and have real conversations about interfaith engagement, conflict, what to do about bigotry鈥� and other important questions that are important in building healthy relationships and civil society.

After visiting 91短视频, Martin at the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s camp in North Dakota opposing the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.