The academy often seems all too hierarchical. Senior scholars evaluate junior faculty, who in turn evaluate their students. Rarely do emerging scholars have the chance to engage in dialogue as equals with their more experienced counterparts.

Yet this past summer, four Contributing Scholars to State of Formation had the opportunity to engage in high-level dialogue with The Reverend Dr. Robert A. Hunt, Director of Global Theological Education at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology, in the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue (JIRD).

Professor Hunt had recently had his article, “Muslims, Modernity, and the Prospects of Christian-Muslim Dialogue,” accepted for publication in the seventh issue of JIRD. Realizing that both the topic in general and Hunt’s article in particular merited further discussion, JIRD’s editorial team asked Contributing Scholars from State of Formation to reflect on the article and raise questions about it.

The result is a testament to their wit and Professor Hunt’s insight — a veritable online dialogue about challenging issues facing Muslim-Christian relations on a global level. We invite you to read more here and see the insights that Bryan Parys, Kari Aanestad, Benjamin B. DeVan, and Karen Leslie Hernandez brought to bear on the topic. Each response article by Contributing Scholars is of a caliber not only worthy of publication in an academic journal but further discussion and dialogue on its own right.