Slice of Laodicea

I had never heard of the Elijah Interfaith Group until this morning when I received this press release promoting author, Arkady Povzikov. I’m getting a lot of these types of releases lately. “Unite religions for world peace.”

Those who practice other religions have their own lists of how the world would be a perfect place if the other religions would fall in line behind theirs.  “Everybody thinks their religion is the One,” Povzikov said.  “But if the religions of the world would agree to tackle serious world problems together, you could bring millions of hearts, hands and minds together to find a solution.”

Povzikov thinks that this could happen, and explores the topic in his new fiction book, “The Thirteenth Apostle.” After he recently finished his book, he was surprised to find out that a group exists that proposes religions find common ground to solve worldwide problems.  It is made up of more than 40 religious leaders in 15 countries representing Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim faiths gathered to seek world unity and peace.  The name of that group is “The Elijah Interfaith Group,” and while Povzikov supports the ideals and goals of the group, he is not an official member.

”I was stunned when I found out a group was actually doing what I had envisioned, but the problem remains that too few people know about it.”

“Most experts agree that the unremitting hostility in global hotspots like Pakistan and India, the site of a shocking terrorist attack this week, is centered on religious differences. It logically follows that it’s likely that religious leaders – not diplomats – would be the most effective brokers of peace. A worldwide organization called the Elijah Interfaith Institute promotes that very idea, suggesting that religious leaders of the world should set aside their ideological differences and tackle the issue of world peace. In his book The Thirteenth Apostle, researcher and author Arkady Povzikov reveals the potential for success in this worldwide vision.  His controversial theories are certain to rattle the churches, temples and synagogues of the world’s religions, if for any other reason, they make sense…Could the leaders of world religions unite to fight terrorism? Is that realistic? Christians tend to think that if only Islam would shed its more radical elements and gravitate to a more moderate position, perhaps the major problems of the world could be solved.  “The problem, of course, is that Christians can be radical too,” Povzikov said.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5o1DnvuVek&eurl=http://www.elijah-interfaith.org/831/[/youtube]