I've recently read this book and I think it is a "must read" for anyone pondering inter-faith issues while wanting to be an even more "Christian" Christian!
In the prologue Samir writes: "At different times in my life I have belonged to Muslim, atheist and Christian camps. In every one, I was rather certain. I believed that we - whichever "we" I was part of - were right. And for us to be right, I thought, others had to be wrong. There were insiders and there were outsiders, and I found comfort in being on the inside. ... In the past several years, however, I have been questioning the the certainty of my religious insider-outsider worldview. Such certainty had a tendency to divide my world and isolate me from the "outsiders" who, as some of my co-religionists and I believed, could not teach me, bless me, or correct me in the matters of God.
...
Now I am looking for a better way to stand on the ground of my beloved religion, to hold the treasures of my faith differently. Now I am looking for a better kind of certainty.
...
I made it a personal discipline to take trips outside the boundaries of Christianity. I did it first to find out whether my God is on the outside of my religion, woven into all of life, and second, to look at my religion from the outside in and experience the way my religion, like any other, excludes others. In the process I have adopted a simple question that helps me navigate the journey: Is a God who favors anyone over anyone else worth worshipping?"
You can follow more of Semanovic's story here. I found the book more engaging and thought provoking than the brief video clips on his website. He is an excellent writer. If you want to see what other (better known) authors say about his book see "endorsements" on the website. I got this book out of the library but have ordered my own copy as I think it is one to re-read and lend. This is definitely a "Concentric Circles" book!
