I recently read the most amazing article by 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He makes two main points about religion. One, religion and faith are primarily determined by the accident of birthplace. If you're born in India, you're a Hindu. If you're born in the southern region of the US, you're a Southern Baptist. This is one of the main issues I've had with organized religion - being born into a religion doesn't mean that that particular religion is somehow more valid than another. I believe every religion is equally 'correct', despite which higher power you pray to.
Second, he cautions against the dangers of proselytization. I've always struggled with Christian missions and the implied belief that becoming a Christian will make someone's life better. Tutu eloquently argues that we need to expand our views on God, to accept a multitude of truths, and to respect the views of others.
God is Not a Christian
What are your thoughts? Christian missions have done amazing humanitarian work, but is it moral to convert the views of others?
Great question and I have no answer. I would hope missions are less about the specific message and more about the implied message. The message for all should be to take care of others - that it, bottom line. How one chooses to accomplish that is just details. I have my beliefs and would be happy to share but not impose. Its when it becomes imposition of ideas that it becomes something entirely different than the important message that we are all equal.
ReplyDeletei come from a mixed faith background that many people (specifically christians...in the south) view as sinful and wrong. I am glad i grew up with an appreciation and understanding of God as the creator of ALL living things, regardless of race, creed, ethnicity, etc. Imposing ones own belief system and the belief that it is more righteous than others' illuminates the simplicity of those very beliefs. If you read the bible, you know, the one with the old Testament, it is quite contradictory to judge the very creatures God created based on your localized human-created doctrine of faith.
ReplyDeleteI was lucky enough to spend time living in Pgh and invited to many Jewish events. My neighbors were all orthodox and while I moaned every Friday night once they parked their cars until sundown Saturday, I grew to absolutely love their respect and dedication to their faith. I carried groceries after sundown, answered phones and many other seemingly funny things but they were all out of respect for their beliefs. Every Saturday morning, I watched as families gathered and walked to synagogue. There was no difference other than customs. My son attended the JCC summer camp and was good fiends with our neighbors. I taught him so much. I wish others could experience the same.
ReplyDeleteOne of my very best, beloved and dear friends is Jewish. I am the maid of honor in her wedding this November and it is a strict orthodox ceremony. I am Lutheran. I am learning so much by being a part of it and have been inspired by her family's respect not only for their own religion and traditions, but for those of different religions as well, especially considering how challenging it can be for them to maintain some of their traditions in our society as it exists today. At the end of the day, we are all human beings created in the same way in our one universe. ~Leasa
ReplyDeleteMultiple universes. That's pretty much the simple answer to any philosophical quandary.
ReplyDeleteGreat question. I have walked through the doors of many churches where one would question how God could be present in the midst of so many judging and dogma-focused people. Conversely, I have walked through the doors of many secular establishments where their mission and loving people leave no doubt as to whether or not a higher power is there. I was once asked if I thought that the Bible was a sacred text. My response was that some people say that the book is sacred. For me, it's how the words in the Bible transform a person is what's sacred. Sharing that transformation unconditionally with others is the evangelistic approach that I prescribe to. Any other narrative lacks cohesion and fidelity. Great post.
ReplyDeleteI've never been a big fan of organized religion, though I do understand that churches offer people a sense of community and place. I was raised Catholic and lived the pre-Vatican version of Catholicism for a long time, but somehow the idea of apostolic succession never made much intellectual sense to me.
ReplyDeletePeople have done more harm to each other in the name of God. The God I understand today has a great sense of humor, isn't confined by our finite definitions of him/her/it, and probably wishes we'd wag more, bark less.
Great post! (Patti)
I can't tell you how valuable I find this discussion. I am moved by the open spirit of the comments/posts before me. I like kenyonstanley's philosophy about the bible. IMO, what's most important is not one's religion, per se, but the ways one's spiritual beliefs can be transformational. I support any beliefs or values that help us to be more open, tolerant, and connected (to all things living and the planet). Beliefs that create divides and dogma? ....not so much.
ReplyDeleteWell said, Ocomfly. Religion should not be a bind, it should be a platform from which we elevate one another. It should be a meeting place of ideas and discussions with an interwoven understanding that individuals sometimes choose a path different than our own, but no less valid.
ReplyDeleteReligion, or more specifically spirituality, are powerful tools for social change and we must stop misusing them. It's as if we hold plutonium and are determined to use it to create a Christian bomb. What we hold are threads and, when we start to pull back towards ourselves, we let them break. When we authentically acknowledge that the threads connecting us to other reliions are there, we allow ourselves to start to examine the intricate—and beautiful—patterns that we can create.