Ryan Bell's posted an introduction to the new and important book. Samir Selmanovic's "It's All About God." The conviction that undergirds this site is that the life of prayer, spirituality, is all about God. Prayer, as our essential relationship with God, transcends religion. It must if it is to contact God. I wonder if Samir is one of the emerging voices at this crucial hinge in history who can help us past the apparent impasse of religion and into the Mystery known as God. So, I also wonder if Samir's vision might help us foster a fuller spirituality. From the dust jacket: “Samir has written a book that reads like an extended poem; an ode to life. Where others see only the darkness and destructiveness of religion, Samir sees beauty and hope. Where others see only competition and violence, Samir sees synergy and life. And his vision is no simple syncretism; a blending of all religions into one inoffensive ‘smoothie’ of goodness and light. This book is a celebration of postmodern ‘otherness’ of the first order."

I also wonder about the relationship between religion and spirituality. On the one hand, without the way religions render God to us--the language, ritual, order--what do we really have of God? And yet, doesn't religion too often box God up too tightly? Don't the defenders of a particular religion's God too often exclude the other, make the other into an object, a target, and tragically a victim of religious zeal?

Watch Samir talk about his new book, his remarkable journey among the religions, and his vision for our future as religious people seeking God. Does it hint at the way forward for us?