Religion Gone Astray

Jamal Rahman, Ted Falcon, Don Mackenzie

Description

Welcome to the deeper dimensions of interfaith dialogue—
exploring that which divides us personally, spiritually and institutionally.

"We believe that interfaith dialogue holds the key to a healing that calls us back to purpose and to meaning. We have risked confronting aspects of our traditions usually hidden, and the consequences have been deeply life-affirming. We risk becoming vulnerable as we share awkward and even unacceptable texts and interpretations, but it is this very vulnerability that allows our dialogue to move forward."
—from the Introduction

Expanding on the conversation started with their very successful first book, the Interfaith Amigos—a pastor, a rabbi and an imam—probe more deeply into the problem aspects of our religious institutions to provide a profound understanding of the nature of what divides us. They identify four common problem areas in the Abrahamic faiths:

Exclusivity: Staking Claim to a One and Only Truth

Violence: Justifying Brutality in the Name of Faith

Inequality of Men and Women: The Patriarchal Stranglehold on Power

Homophobia: A Denial of Legitimacy

They explore the origins of these issues and the ways critics use these beliefs as divisive weapons. And they present ways we can use these vulnerabilities to open doors for the collaboration required to address our common issues, more profound personal relationships, and true interfaith healing.

Preface vii
INTRODUCTION
What We Found at the Heart of Interfaith 1
Our Experience as "The Other" 2
The Stages of Interfaith Dialogue 5
Core Teachings of the Abrahamic Traditions 7
So Who Are We? 9
The Beginning of Healing 10
Toward Greater Healing and Hope 11
Some Suggestions on How to Use This Book 11
We Are the Healing That Needs to Be 13
CHAPTER ONE
Exclusivity: Staking Claim to a One and Only Truth 15
Exclusivity in Judaism 15
Exclusivity in Christianity 25
Exclusivity in Islam 34
Concluding Comments 45
Sharing Our Stories 45
Questions for Discussion 48
Spiritual Practices 48
CHAPTER TWO
Violence: Justifying Brutality in the Name of Faith 51
Violence in Judaism 51
Violence in Christianity 59
Violence in Islam 66
Concluding Comments 76
Sharing Our Stories 76
Questions for Discussion 79
Spiritual Practices 79
CHAPTER THREE
Inequality of Men and Women:
The Patriarchal Stranglehold on Power 81
Inequality of Men and Women in Judaism 81
Inequality of Men and Women in Christianity 88
Inequality of Men and Women in Islam 95
Concluding Comments 107
Sharing Our Stories 107
Questions for Discussion 109
Spiritual Practices 109
CHAPTER FOUR
Homophobia: A Denial of Legitimacy 111
Homophobia in Judaism 112
Homophobia in Christianity 118
Homophobia in Islam 123
Concluding Comments 133
Sharing Our Stories 133
Questions for Discussion 136
Spiritual Practices 137
CHAPTER FIVE
Underneath It All: God and Revelation 139
Rabbi Ted's Reflections on God and Revelation 139
Pastor Don’s Reflections on God and Revelation 146
Imam Jamal’s Reflections on God and Revelation 151
Concluding Comments 158
CONCLUSION
Going Astray toward Greater Meaning 159
We Go Astray in Order to Grow 159
An Invitation to Personal and Institutional Evolution 161
What You Can Do Now 162
Acknowledgments 165
Notes 167
Suggestions for Further Reading 169

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Interfaith
• Philosophie et théologie
• Abrahamic religions
• Exclusivity
• Homophobia
• Interfaith dialog
• Ecumenism
• Judaism
• Christianity
• Islam
• Violence

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 03 octobre 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781594733918
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Religion Gone Astray :
What We Found at the Heart of Interfaith
2011 Quality Paperback Edition, First Printing 2011 by Don Mackenzie, Ted Falcon and Jamal Rahman
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or reprinted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information regarding permission to reprint material from this book, please mail or fax your request to SkyLight Paths Publishing, Permissions Department, at the address/ fax number listed below, or e-mail your request to [e-mail] .
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mackenzie, Don, 1944-
Religion gone astray: what we found at the heart of interfaith / Don Mackenzie, Ted Falcon, and Jamal Rahman. -Quality paperback ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-59473-317-8 (quality pbk. original) 1. Religions-Relations. 2. Abrahamic religions. I. Falcon, Ted. II. Rahman, Jamal. III. Title.
BL410.M33 2011
201'.5-dc23
2011032675
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Manufactured in the United States of America Cover design: Tim Holtz

SkyLight Paths is creating a place where people of different spiritual traditions come together for challenge and inspiration, a place where we can help each other understand the mystery that lies at the heart of our existence.
SkyLight Paths sees both believers and seekers as a community that increasingly transcends traditional boundaries of religion and denomination-people wanting to learn from each other, walking together, finding the way.
SkyLight Paths, Walking Together, Finding the Way, and colophon are trademarks of LongHill Partners, Inc., registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Walking Together, Finding the Way
Published by SkyLight Paths Publishing
A Division of LongHill Partners, Inc.
Sunset Farm Offices, Route 4, P.O. Box 237
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Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]
www.skylightpaths.com
To the memory of M. K. Gandhi,
the Mahatma who continues to illuminate
the path to peace in a pluralistic world
Contents
Preface
I NTRODUCTION
What We Found at the Heart of Interfaith
Our Experience as The Other
The Stages of Interfaith Dialogue
Core Teachings of the Abrahamic Traditions
So Who Are We?
The Beginning of Healing
Toward Greater Healing and Hope
Some Suggestions on How to Use This Book
We Are the Healing That Needs to Be
C HAPTER O NE
Exclusivity: Staking Claim to a One and Only Truth
Exclusivity in Judaism
Exclusivity in Christianity
Exclusivity in Islam
Concluding Comments
Sharing Our Stories
Questions for Discussion
Spiritual Practices
C HAPTER T WO
Violence: Justifying Brutality in the Name of Faith
Violence in Judaism
Violence in Christianity
Violence in Islam
Concluding Comments
Sharing Our Stories
Questions for Discussion
Spiritual Practices
C HAPTER T HREE
Inequality of Men and Women: The Patriarchal Stranglehold on Power
Inequality of Men and Women in Judaism
Inequality of Men and Women in Christianity
Inequality of Men and Women in Islam
Concluding Comments
Sharing Our Stories
Questions for Discussion
Spiritual Practices
C HAPTER F OUR
Homophobia: A Denial of Legitimacy
Homophobia in Judaism
Homophobia in Christianity
Homophobia in Islam
Concluding Comments
Sharing Our Stories
Questions for Discussion
Spiritual Practices
C HAPTER F IVE
Underneath It All: God and Revelation
Rabbi Ted s Reflections on God and Revelation
Pastor Don s Reflections on God and Revelation
Imam Jamal s Reflections on God and Revelation
Concluding Comments
C ONCLUSION
Going Astray toward Greater Meaning
We Go Astray in Order to Grow
An Invitation to Personal and Institutional Evolution
What You Can Do Now
Acknowledgments
Notes
Suggestions for Further Reading

About SkyLight Paths
Copyright
Preface
A t the conclusion of most of our presentations, we sing our theme song. The words to that song are in Arabic, Hebrew, and English. When we introduce the song, Imam Jamal shares the Arabic and then translates, Rabbi Ted does the same with the Hebrew, and then Pastor Don gives the English, It s all one, and I AM as I AM. Usually he simply repeats the English by way of translation. But at one of our presentations, something totally incomprehensible came out of his mouth instead of the repeated English. Rabbi Ted remembers it contained phrases like, Je ne c est quoi , and All that Hoo-Hah. It was so unexpected that Rabbi Ted and Imam Jamal burst out laughing.
Not all of our presentations bring such hilarity, but we almost always learn something new from our interactions with groups across the country. It has become somewhat standard for one of us to say, when we are inviting questions, We have some time for questions now. We don t have any time for answers, but we welcome your questions!
The truth is that this book is one consequence of the questions we have been asked at the many speaking engagements we have had since the publication of our first book, Getting to the Heart of Interfaith: The Eye-Opening, Hope-Filled Friendship of a Pastor, a Rabbi and a Sheikh (SkyLight Paths), two years ago. We talk about the core teachings of our faiths, and we share aspects of our traditions that are aligned with those teachings. Then we share problematic texts that seem contrary to the core teachings of our own faiths. And this is when the questions really begin to flow.
At just about every presentation we ve given, we have been asked, How can we talk with those who think they have the only truth? It seems that more people than ever are finally asking these questions: How can we talk to each other? What is it that separates us and makes cooperation so difficult? Can t we get beyond it?
We also hear this: What about the violence done in the name of religion? We have met many people who either condemn religion because of the violence done in its name, or who have left their faith because of that awareness. Why is violence associated with religion? Is there anything we can do about that?
Another recurring question focuses on sexism: How can we deal with the outdated patriarchal system in religion? From women, we often get questions about the inequality of men and women in religious institutions. What are we to do with texts that condemn women to subservient roles?
Finally, we are often asked Why religion is so antagonistic toward gay and lesbian people. We ve had questions raised by those in the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered) community and those concerned about them. Why is religion so antagonistic toward alternative sexual practices? Why isn t love the criterion for acceptable relationships? The whole society is beginning to accept gays and lesbians. Why can t religion be inclusive?
These four issues are raised again and again, reflecting the pain that many experience as a result of prohibitions, inhibitions, and exclusivities of religious institutions. There is the personal pain when we are victims of these issues or when actions in the name of faith are clearly in conflict with the spiritual teachings we hold dear; communal pain when rifts form within faith communities over the legitimacy of these issues and our reactions to them; and interreligious pain when faith traditions condemn other traditions for the evil that exists in the world.
The exclusivity, violence, inequality of men and women, and homophobia that have been attributed to our texts and have caused deep personal, communal and interreligious pain throughout the world comprise the focus of this book. Because our understanding of God and revelation informs all our thinking, we include those topics following our discussion of these four problem areas. We will also consider the possibility that these problematic texts can contribute to our cooperation and healing as a society, rather than to our alienation, our going astray, from our spiritual identity.
In these four major areas, religions go astray from their own core teachings. But those very core teachings can provide support for the healing that is sorely needed, and can call us back to our spiritual purpose.
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he discovered that the people had lost heart, had gone astray. They had regressed into idolatry. What happened next? Moses called them back.
When the disciples, at a loss for what to do next, went fishing after the crucifixion, Jesus appeared to them on the shore of the Sea of Tiberius and called them back.
And to the seventh-century pagans, and to those Jews and Christians who strayed from monotheism in the Arabian Peninsula, the Prophet Muhammad proclaimed, There is no god but God. He called them back.
Religions come into being to call us back to the spiritual paths from which we have strayed, the paths that lead to healing. But religions themselves, as institutions, go astray, too. Losing sight of their greater purpose, they serve themselves. We might recognize the pain when we lose sight of our own personal purpose, yet our religious institutions seem less able to acknowledge when they have strayed from their purpose. Like us, religious institutions need to be called back.
We believe that interfaith dialogue holds the key to a healing that calls us back to purpose and to meaning. In the ten years that we have been working closely with each other, we have risked confronting aspects of our traditions usually hidden, and the consequences have been deeply life-affirming. We risk becoming vulnerable as we share awkward and even unacceptable texts and interpretations, but it is this very vulnerability that allows our dialogue to move forward.
The healing that we need as a society requires us to meet each other as full human beings. The healing we seek opens us up to collaborate more hone