Wisdom and Imagination: Religious Progressives and the Search for Meaning

This published collection of thirteen chapters from Australian and New Zealand religious progressives, edited by Rex Hunt and Greg Jenks, has grown out of the internationally acclaimed Common Dreams Conference of Religious Progressives in Australia and New Zealand.

The first three Common Dreams conferences were held in 2007 (Sydney), 2010 (Melbourne), and 2013 (Canberra). The essays gathered here showcase some of the wisdom and imagination associated with Common Dreams.

The essays cover diverse subjects including: prayer, liturgy, Bible, eco-theology, the influence of J. A. T. Robinson's book, Honest to God, as well as progressive theological thought in Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Some of these chapters were originally presented to one of the first three Common Dreams conferences, while others have been written especially for this collection.

The authors include: Val Webb, Lloyd Geering, Lorraine Parkinson, Aviva Kipen, John W. Smith, Noel Preston, Glynn Cardy, Jenny Te Paa Daniel, Rex Hunt, Sherene Hassan, Greg Jenks, Nigel Leaves, and Heather Carter. David Felten (USA) provides a Foreword and Bruce Sanguin (Canada) contributes an Afterword.

We hope that you find this collection of work by religious progressives from Australia and New Zealand assists you to plumb the depths of your own creativity, encourages you to remain alive to new possibilities, and invites you to imagine the new expressions that our Common Dreams will take in the years ahead. The best is yet to come, and we look forward to sharing the journey with you.
--from the Introduction