Is there really common ground to be found amongst the various religions?
Absolutely.
In the New York Times Magazine article Keeping the Faith, reporter Russell Shorto outlines Pope Benedict's central theme:
Secularism may be one of the great developments in history, but the secularism that holds sway in much of the West — that is, in Western Europe — is flawed; it has a bug in its programming. The mistaken conviction that reason and faith are two distinct realms has weakened Europe and has brought it to the verge of catastrophic collapse.
Note how similar the Pope's views are to President Faust's pronouncement in General Conference of October 2005.
Secularism is expanding in much of the world today. Secularism is defined as “indifference to or rejection or exclusion of religion and religious considerations.” Secularism does not accept many things as absolutes. Its principal objectives are pleasure and self-interest. Often those who embrace secularism have a different look about them. As Isaiah observed, “The show of their countenance doth witness against them.”
There may be only c. 13 million Mormons, but there are over 1 billion Catholics. Isn't it wonderful to know that "they that be with us" in stemming the tide of secularism are far more than we had supposed?
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