Can We Talk: The Sacrament of Dialogue

In today's broadcast Bishop Peter Elder Hickman will be talking about the call to dialogue. Conversation is at the heart of the human experience. Our ability to communicate meaningfully with one another is the basis of all human relationships, it is the foundation that constitutes the human community, it is the dynamic that makes human civilization possible, and it is the glue that holds us together in a shared life. Without conversation humanity itself would become extinct, for our capacity for dialogue is what has enabled our particular species to survive through that creative cooperative endeavor called culture. As people of faith we recognise that our Christian religious tradition is based upon the idea that we are called by our creator to enter into conversation with God and one another. The human experience of the divine is basically dialogical. God is here and He is not silent. He is a God who speaks. God has spoken to our ancestors and He continues to speak to us. God has initiated a conversation with the human race, a conversation that does not, nor ever will, end. That divine-human conversation includes our ability and willingness to be in conversation with one another. For the sake of everyone we must talk with each other. When conversation between two parties ceases, then the death of the relationship quickly follows. Today, we will be exploring the importance of conversation in a broadcast entitled, "Can We Talk: The Sacrament of Dialogue."