Anglican Communion News Service

Canadian Anglican bishop, Michael Ingham, whose theological studies and travels have taken him to India, China, Israel, Great Britain, Europe, and the United States has written a startling new book to show how Christians and people of other faiths can work toward mutual understanding and acceptance, and advance the cause of world peace. Setting out a concept whose time has come, Bishop Ingham's straight-forward book challenges the long-held Christian belief that only faith in Jesus Christ can lead to spiritual salvation. Bishop Michael Ingham is Bishop of New Westminster, British Columbia in Canada.

In Mansions of the Spirit: The Gospel in a Multi-Faith World, Bishop Ingham explains how faith in Jesus Christ would be better served if Christians searched for truth in other faiths as well as in their own. Western nations, including Canada, were once considered almost exclusively Christian, with minorities very much in the background. Similarly, most regions in the world are now challenged daily with a cultural diversity that they may not have experienced before. Too often these cultural mixes spark discord and violence. In Bishop Ingham's view, cultural diversity offers and tremendous opportunity for learning and spiritual growth.

"The inter-faith movement is expanding globally. This says to me that people of many faiths are recognising that they must look beyond their own beliefs to other people's religions and life choices for illumination," says Bishop Ingham. "The stakes are high. We can opt for world peace, with people of diverse religions working together for better understanding and acceptance, or we can succumb to suspicion, intolerance, and violence."

The book is published in Canada by the Anglican Book Centre, 600 Jarvis Street, Toronto, Ontario M4Y 2J6. It is distributed in the UK by Canterbury Press Norwich, and in the USA by Forward Movement Publications.