I’ve made the case before that, when done well and with conviction, interfaith dialogue can be very productive.  Engaging in intentional conversation with those of different religious traditions doesn’t have to mean bland, vaguely spiritual-sounding conversations about things that any decent human being would agree with.  At it’s best, the interfaith movement allows for a deepening of one’s own specific belief while proving space for common cause.

Yesterday I received an email about a video contest sponsored by an interfaith website, Patheos.com, that piqued my curiosity and may be of interest to some of this blog’s readers.

Religion and spirituality Web site Patheos.com is calling on all students with a digital video camera to share their perspectives on their faith with the launch of a video challenge targeted at college students and young adults across the country.

“Faith on Campus” will be open for video submissions through Jan. 31, 2010. During that time, students can also promote their entries and encourage votes through the end of January.

To promote the contest, Patheos has partnered with On Faith, an online feature from The Washington Post and Newsweek, to advance the dialogue on religion and the critical issues of today.

“Patheos and On Faith are two of the leading sites in the world dedicated to driving the dialogue across the world’s many faiths,” said Leo Brunnick, CEO of Patheos. “In this partnership, we’re shining a spotlight on young people and letting them show the world what their faith means to them.”

A distinguished panel of judges will select the winning video submission, which will be awarded a cash prize of $2,500. Three runner-up prizes valued at $1,000 will also be awarded for the following three categories:
1. Why I am a [fill in your faith]
2. How I live my beliefs on campus
3. Rituals and practices of my faith

A fifth prize of $1,000 will be awarded to the audience favorite, based on the audience vote at Patheos.com.

The judges for the video contest include some of the most respected figures in today’s conversation on religion:
— William A. Graham, Dean, Harvard Divinity School
— Craig Detweiler, Pepperdine University
— Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, Blogger, Author, and Radio Host
— Sally Quinn, Co-Founder, Washington Post’s On Faith

Any takers?  One of the judges, Craig Detweiler, is a friend and his involvement with the contest only heightens my interest.

I would really like to see some students from our church answer one of the first two questions: Why I am a Christian and How I live by beliefs on campus.  What a fascinating opportunity to creatively and articulately explain the particular beauty of the Gospel of Jesus!

If anyone submits a video, I hope you’ll leave a comment to let us know.

More information about the contest can be found here: patheos.com/contest/information