Is Ecumenism really possible? Mennonites and Peace-- J.H. Yoder
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Posted:Mar 27, 2006 8:17 pm
Last Updated:Apr 13, 2006 9:44 am 2690 Views
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Recently Pope Benedict made Cardinals of a number of world bishops and told them to push strongly for ecumenism in our world.
I've wondered about that for some time. The Late John Paul 11 was a mighty warrior who travelled the world many times over labouring for world peace and took some enormous risks with his own life to do just that-- speaking in mosques and synagogues and asking forgiveness for the sins of Christians and Catholics in the past.
Tonight I did some research only to discover that John Howard Yoder passed away back in the late 1990's. I was quite saddened at his loss actually. I was most fortunate to have attended his workship in the mid 1980s when I was working inside the peace movement for the abolition of war. Wow.. what an intellect John Howard was. I doubt I have met such a man of faith and raw intellect who would argue vociferously that Jesus was opposed to all war and violence. He quoted scripture in all his arguements and backed it up with volumes of historical examples where war had not produced peace.
Similarly the society of Friends or Quakers hold the same view. On the return this weekend of the members of the Christian Peacemakers from Iraq one has to wonder about all these values.
Is peace possible without war? If our young people around the globe believe that war is intrinsic to human nature--- then is it not inevitable that we will be in conflict after conflict until someone uses the atomic weapons that have proliferated uncontrollably throughout the world?
It is my view that we need more and more John Howard Yoders today--- people of great courage and conviction to work for peace--- and more people like these young Christian peacemakers who have just returned from Iraq.
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The Paradox of our Times.........
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Posted:Mar 27, 2006 6:55 pm
Last Updated:Apr 9, 2006 9:15 pm 2498 Views
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We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years.
We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; we've done larger things, but not better things.
We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we've split the atom, but not our prejudice.
We write more, but learn less; we plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait; we have higher incomes, but lower morals; we have more food, but less appeasement; we build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication; we've become long on quantity, but short on quality.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition.
These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet to kill.
It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology has brought this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to make a difference, or to just hit "Delete".
My Nathan sent me this-- and I love it. I have no idea who the author is!
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We need to Challenge Islamic Laws--putting someone to death for converting to Christianity is wrong
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Posted:Mar 25, 2006 7:07 am
Last Updated:Mar 29, 2006 4:56 am 2561 Views
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Many people are up in arms today over the death sentence that is being given to an Afghanistan man for converting from Islam to Christianity. It is barbaric and it is wrong. Far too often do we as Christians take for granted our freedoms and our democracy. And far too often do we turn a blind eye to the barbaric practices of other governments that violate human rights in the most perverse of manner. I would like to quote this article I read today on the hypocrisy of our own and other governments with respect to this issue and I ask all the readers of my blog to pray for this man in Afganistan and all others whose freedom of worship may result in his death sentence. May God intervene and may Jesus be with him forever.
JIM REED:
Testing the West's values in Afghanistan
CBC News Viewpoint | March 24, 2006 | More from Jim Reed
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Jim Reed has worked as a researcher, writer, producer, director, reporter and news anchor for CTV, TVO and CBC. He has travelled widely and has freelanced for The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Globe and Mail and other news organizations.
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There is a disingenuous aura surrounding the outrage now being voiced by Westerners over the trial and possible execution of an Afghan convert to Christianity. The anger being expressed by Western churches and governments smacks of the worst sort of hypocrisy. Otherwise intelligent individuals and supposedly plugged-in governments are professing amazement, surprise, astonishment, shock and any number of other emotional reactions to behaviour they have known about and tolerated for a very long time.
Stephen Harper says that the Afghan President Hamid Karzai assured him by telephone that Abdul Rahman would not be executed. That assurance may have been given, but it's meaningless unless Karzai can influence the Afghan judiciary. The problem in this particular case is that there's no provision in the Afghan constitution to allow a pardon for "insulting God."
This case highlights the past cynical views of Western leaders with respect to traditions and cultures that are radically different from our own. It also shows just how naïve, and even ignorant, Mr. Harper and others are about the politics and culture of other nations, particularly Afghanistan.
For years ‒ no, for decades ‒ American, Canadian and European diplomats have been briefed in detail by their governments on the variety of customs, rituals and practices approved of, accepted or tolerated by governments in other parts of the world, including in the Muslim world.
The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, the U.S. State Department, the British Foreign Office ‒ all these arms of "civilized" Western governments have been fully apprised of the extremes of the Sharia law, for example. They have been made keenly aware of barbaric practices by a number of different governments. But over the years, they have all turned a blind eye.
North American and European governments have accepted for generations a wide variety of customs, rituals and practices, that "Christian" nations have supposedly outgrown and discarded. (Although it's not so long ago that black citizens in the southern United States were lynched and apparently even today, Americans and other westerners engage in the practice of coercive interrogation and torture, when it comes to "defending" our own way of life).
We have not only accepted that countries and governments approve and implement inhuman laws and punishments, we have instructed our diplomatic representatives not to bring them up with their host governments ‒ or at least not to challenge them too strongly. These include such allies as Saudi Arabia, Arab states such as Yemen, African countries like Mauritania and many many others, including India and Pakistan.
When human-rights organizations have called on our Western governments to censure or sanction the offending nations for gross violations of human rights, the Canadians, Americans, British and others have ignored the criticisms. They have quite simply swept the entire question of unacceptable customs and local laws under the rug.
These outrageous but accepted practices have included the amputation of hands for theft, the stoning to death of women over allegations of and adultery and the beheading of men and women for certain crimes, including some which are sex-related. They have included the burning of young women alive, the gang of others and numerous styles of punishment carried out in other countries with official approval or tolerance.
The present case in Afghanistan is just one which has caught the attention of the Western media, churches and governments because it involves something familiar. A man is being threatened with execution because he changed religions. It has become a cause célèbre because the Afghan man converted to Christianity. But the convert's trial and punishment are allowed ‒ mandated even ‒ under the Afghan Constitution, a document that was drafted under the watchful eyes of Western officials and implemented with the full knowledge of the Americans, Canadians and Europeans.
The anger now being expressed in the West rings hollow.
A case like this was bound to surface sooner or later and there will be more in the future. On the one hand, it's evidence that we are in over our heads in dealing with a tribal culture, which we have vowed to defend but do not understand or fully accept. On the other hand, the groundswell of protest rising in Western countries says to the Afghan people that the West does not respect their beliefs.
Abdul Rahman may escape execution because of the outcry, but only because the courts will likely rule that he is "insane" and unfit for trial.
The nations of the West are caught on the horns of a self-made dilemma. Our governments have said we're in Afghanistan to defend a fledgling government, to fight terrorism and to build a nation.
The trial and possible execution of a man, whose crime was to choose to practice another religion, will be a severe test for Canada and other Western nations ‒ now too deeply involved in Afghanistan to pull out.
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Halleluiah!! Free at last! Joy at the release of Christian Peacemakers in Iraq
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Posted:Mar 23, 2006 8:01 am
Last Updated:Mar 30, 2006 4:26 pm 2584 Views
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May the Lord be praised. May all those who went into prayer for the release of our brothers in Iraq be thanked for their time in prayer. May the American and British soldiers be praised for helping rescue these hostages of love and compassion. May the Lord intervene in Iraq and find a peaceful ending to all the bloodshed. Halleluiah to the risen Lord! We also lift up our American brother Tom Fox for all the work he did as a peacemaker. May the Lord use his love for peace in a most profoundly peaceful way to help resolve this confict.
I just want to share the elation with everyone and take a little clip from the Sojourner's magazine about this....
CPT rejoices in the release of our peacemakers
by Doug Pritchard and Carol Rose
Our hearts are filled with joy today as we heard that Harmeet Singh Sooden, Jim Loney and Norman Kember have been safely released in Baghdad. Christian Peacemaker Teams rejoices with their families and friends at the expectation of their return to their loved ones and community. Together we have endured uncertainty, hope, fear, grief and now joy during the four months since they were abducted in Baghdad.
We rejoice in the return of Harmeet Sooden. He has been willing to put his life on the line to promote justice in Iraq and Palestine as a young man newly committed to active peacemaking.
We rejoice in the return of Jim Loney. He has cared for the marginalized and oppressed since childhood, and his gentle, passionate spirit has been an inspiration to people near and far.
We rejoice in the return of Norman Kember. He is a faithful man, an elder and mentor to many in his 50 years of peacemaking, a man prepared to pay the cost.
We remember with tears Tom Fox, whose body was found in Baghdad on March 9, 2006, after three months of captivity with his fellow peacemakers. We had longed for the day when all four men would be released together. Our gladness today is made bittersweet by the fact that Tom is not alive to join in the celebration. However, we are confident that his spirit is very much present in each reunion.
Harmeet, Jim and Norman and Tom were in Iraq to learn of the struggles facing the people in that country. They went, motivated by a passion for justice and peace to live out a nonviolent alternative in a nation wracked by armed conflict. They knew that their only protection was in the power of the love of God and of their Iraqi and international co-workers. We believe that the illegal occupation of Iraq by Multinational Forces is the root cause of the insecurity which led to this kidnapping and so much pain and suffering in Iraq. The occupation must end.
Today, in the face of this joyful news, our faith compels us to love our enemies even when they have committed acts which caused great hardship to our friends and sorrow to their families. In the spirit of the prophetic nonviolence that motivated Jim, Norman, Harmeet and Tom to go to Iraq, we refuse to yield to a spirit of vengeance. We give thanks for the compassionate God who granted our friends courage and who sustained their spirits over the past months. We pray for strength and courage for ourselves so that, together, we can continue the nonviolent struggle for justice and peace.
Throughout these difficult months, we have been heartened by messages of concern for our four colleagues from all over the world. We have been especially moved by the gracious outpouring of support from Muslim brothers and sisters in the Middle East, Europe, and North America. That support continues to come to us day after day. We pray that Christians throughout the world will, in the same spirit, call for justice and for respect for the human rights of the thousands of Iraqis who are being detained illegally by the U.S. and British forces occupying Iraq.
During these past months, we have tasted of the pain that has been the daily bread of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. Why have our loved ones been taken? Where are they being held? Under what conditions? How are they? Will they be released? When?
With Tom's death, we felt the grief of losing a beloved friend. Today, we rejoice in the release of our friends Harmeet, Jim and Norman. We continue to pray for a swift and joyful homecoming for the many Iraqis and internationals who long to be reunited with their families. We renew our commitment to work for an end to the war and the occupation of Iraq as a way to continue the witness of Tom Fox. We trust in God's compassionate love to show us the way.
Living through the many emotions of this day, we remain committed to the words of Jim Loney, who wrote:
"With God's abiding kindness, we will love even our enemies.
With the love of Christ, we will resist all evil.
With God's unending faithfulness, we will work to build the beloved community."
Doug Pritchard and Carol Rose are co-directors of Christian Peacemaker Teams.
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Why I continue to love Americans...............
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Posted:Mar 9, 2006 8:58 pm
Last Updated:Mar 14, 2006 7:05 pm 2628 Views
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When I entered the novitiate to begin studies towards the Catholic priesthood way back in pre-historic times-- I think it was 1964/5-- I had to travel by bus from Toronto to New York City. I took a few hours to visit the Exposition of that year and then caught my bus for a small town called Ridgefield, Connecticut. There I spent a full year almost like a monk in solitude, prayer, meditation, physical work and a lot of study.
During the course of the year I came to know many wonderful American people. I was overwhelmed with their kindness and generosity towards others; their strong sense of identity as Americans and their giftedness for the intellectual life and the Church.
Those days seem somewhat distant in my memory now. Perhaps my days as a missionary in the West Indies was the beginning of a trial my mind went through as I listened for two years to the anti-capitalist ideas of the Black Power movement; the revolutionary thoughts of Castro, Stokely Carmichael and Che Guverra-- the philosophy of Franz Fanon and many others. And then in the 1980's when I began teaching here in ALberta-- I became heavily involved in the Peace Movement and the cause of so many Latin American people who had suffered at the hands of governments heavily supported by the government of the United States.
In the words of Pope John Paul II, I made the decision to "work untiringly for the cause of disarmament"--especially nuclear disarmament. It was at that time that as Chairperson of the Social Justice Commission I inspired my colleagues to bring Phil Berrigan here for a conference on Peace. He and his brother Dan had many times been imprisoned for their passionate belief that the United States was morally wrong to possess nuclear weapons.
Well--- I am still of the opinion that we are all drifting towards armageddon. Back in the 80's I spoke out vociferously against testing cruise missiles to my teacher colleagues and mounted a huge protest to the various levels of government. I believed then, that this was morally wrong-- in that these weapons would eventually be used. Sadly-- these weapons have only increased and bigger, smarter and more dangerous weapons have since come along. And more frighteningly-- more and more middle power countries are getting them-- yes including Iran.
But why then-- do I continue to love my American friends if I do not necessarily agree with their government on the issue of war and foreign policy? Well in a nutshell-- the American people are still among the very best in the world. I cannot forget the tremendous work Americans have done to help rebuild countries like Germany and Japan after the second world war. Nor can I forget the many countries it has assisted in Europe, Latin America and Asia and continues to this date. I am even more impressed with the American fearlessness to venture forth with ideas and free enterprise to help better the world in which we live.
Yes-- I may differ vehemently with their government on many policies concerning the conflict around the globe-- but the American people will always take up the warmest place in my heart. Sadly-- so many Americans are poor and lacking the basic necessities today. They live in an America that is not captured on television and not integrated into the mainstream of government thinking. Jesus commands us to love one another-- even our enemies. I may differ widely on my views of war with my American friends on Big Church-- but I truly love them all, and seek only to get to know them better and continue to believe that the United States is one of our greatest friends and allies. May God Bless America and all Americans!
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Was this a real miracle? I am still in a state of shock!
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Posted:Feb 24, 2006 10:55 pm
Last Updated:Mar 18, 2006 9:44 pm 2915 Views
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I have been more than candid while writing my daily life story on this site. Most who know me realize that I am not a wealthy man- and I live in a very cold climate with winter currently occuring. Last night the temperature dropped to minus 20 Celsius. That's cold!
Living in an older mobile home I just purchased last summer has been a challenge to say the least. But last night my furnace quit-- and this time it appeared for good. A Christian plumber friend of mine--I call him "The Lord's Plumber" because he assisted me two years ago when I experienced broken water pipe in another trailer I had bought-- came out to help me. He had been once before and tried to fix this 30 year old gas furnace. This time he brought his elderly father along-- and he brought with him a book called The Bible. While Jeff worked on the furnace George prayed with me for all my needs and especially the furnace. Well a new furnace appeared to be the only answer-- which is some $3,000.00 dollars that I just do not have at this point. So-- hours later the furnace was working and Jeff and George were on their way home. We shared some Christian prayer and fellowship and I went to bed a lot warmer than I had been for the whole day prior to their coming,
When I woke up this morning I immediately went to the radio to turn on my favourite CBC channel for the news and weather forcast. The radio was not working. I went to the fridge to get a glass of milk. It was not working. I went to the microwave to warm up some milk. It too was not working. Ok-- so I brilliantly figured out the problem. I had plugged in a back up electric heater and that had tripped the breaker in the fuse panel. SO-- I simply turned it back on. Problem solved? Yes-- the fridge was now working, the microwave was working and yes-- the radio. Whoops. No. For some reason it was not. So I played around with the buttons and out pops these words:
Jesus Christ is risen..... simplify your life.
At first I thought my dial had moved to a Christian radio station-- but no. It was not that. Then I searched around for more answers... nothing. It was so amazing to hear these words after so much prayer and reflection the evening before.
All day long I have been talking about this occurence. I cannot believe what happened. It just blew me away. It was not a radio station-- it was an old tape I had put into the machine about 6 months ago and forgot about. It was praise music--- but why those words and at that particular time and in that particular moment? Once again I am totally dumbfounded and again I want to say that I truly believe this was another miracle; another message from the Lord, another instance of God communicating directly. He wants only our faith in Him and nothing more.
Halleluiah!
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De Profundis Clamate ad te Domine...out of the depths I cry to you O Lord
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Posted:Feb 19, 2006 8:23 pm
Last Updated:Mar 17, 2006 7:42 pm 2881 Views
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Today I lay on the hospital bed and praying the great prayer for help. As I lay in wonder as to what the Lord has in store for my future- I continued to bask myself in the mystery of God. I asked why me O Lord at this time? Is my time up? What more do you require of your servant? I once more wandered in my mind through all the years of my life and where this day I sit with the Lord.
Obviously since I am home now-- I'm still here! I saw a doctor on Friday evening and he struck fear in my heart as he took me off a controversial arthritis drug called celebrex. I have severe arthritis in my shoulders. He also placed me on a water pill to reduce the swelling in my feet caused by the celebrex drug which was controlling my pain. So naturally he wanted blood work taken and X-rays etc. Well after a long day in hospital where they checked me from stem to stern-- it is not quite as frightening as I once thought. I will have to see a specialist for the arthritis and then get onto some other kind of drug to manage the pain which is not going to do a number on the heart. Hopefully it won't attack the liver either! So luckily I don't drink and have never smoked-- but I am overweight and will have to try to lose a few pounds. But other than night I should be ok.
So what was all this about? Just another trial as I see it. There is an old saying "Pray to God but row for shore". How true. Prayer alone is not what God wants. He does expect us to pick up the oars and use them.
What occured to me the most was that we too often take our health for granted. Each day we rise from sleep we forget that the Lord is the author of our lungs, our heart, our kidneys, our liver and other organs. He is the one that gives us the "Air to Breath" -- from that most beautiful song "This is the air I breathe.." He gives us 100 percent--- not 99 or less!
My mother always told me the story of when she was young she heard the story of the man who used to complain about the holes in his socks-- until one day he met a man with no legs! So in my hour of taking pity on myself I decided to call my dear friend ELLIE and see how she was coping with a far more terminal illness- cancer. She is not doing well. On Valentine's I took her some lovely purple carnations and a card. She truly thanked me. I prayed with her and told her about the words of St Theresa of Avila-- "The day you no longer burn with love, many others will die of the cold."
Yes I think the problem we all face is a thing called "Life". It was not meant to be lived in a rocking chair. How often do we forget that our GREAT LEADER was nailed to a cross-- that His agony and suffering was a drop in the bucket to what the average North American like myself endures. I think perhaps that God is taking us into a new view of ourselves.
Perhaps we all need a moment of reflection. A retreat. A day of fasting and abstinence. Perhaps we need to become Muslims for a day, Jews for a day, the poor of Yahweh ("anawim" in Hebrew). We need to come to terms with that person inside us that has a purpose for living; a reason for dieing. When all the suicide bombs have done their job; when the last bomb has been dropped- when the last bullet has been fired-- we can take a break and see where it is leading us and where we are individually heading.
The first great mission territory in life is a huge empire called "ME". We need to tone down the missionary work converting others to our point of view. We need to listen with a loving heart. We need the compassion of Jesus and the wisdom of his great Holy Solomon to understand all the events of our world. It is only through love that we do anything. And were it not for the LOVE of God manifested in His Jesus and lived out in the Holy Spirit here and now--- this whole universe would be a mass of rubble making the 9/11 tragedy and the terrible destruction of the city of Baghdad a small mole hill in the tragic history of humankind's hatred of each other
If one small planet comes out of orbit- if the sun and the moon and the stars failed to line up in the paths that only God set in motion--- where would we be? Where on earth would we be? Yes we do need to descend to our knees and worship in prayer and cry out to the loving God that put us here and expects something in return.
We do not holler at the skies--- we have a God that we know listens. The entirety of life is a miracle-- not the other way around. De profundis clamate ad te Domine-- out of the depths do we cry to you O Lord--- O Lord hear our voice!
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The amazing power of prayer....
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Posted:Feb 14, 2006 9:34 pm
Last Updated:Mar 5, 2006 9:29 pm 2887 Views
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I'm convinced that many who come to my blog have some questions about my own beliefs. I have no doubt that I am very different and not someone who easily fits inside a home made box.
I was born and raised a Catholic and spent many years in the seminary studying to be a priest/teacher. I left after ten years without being ordained-- and became a full time teacher instead of a priest. However I did a lot of work inside the confines of the Church and school systems.
Following my divorce some 13 years ago I have found much consolation in other churches-- all Christian. But some of my friends denounce me going to this church or that church-- telling me that I can only be saved if I go to "their" church. It gets painfull after a while listening to all this.
I found much help within the Charismatic prayer movement at the time of my divorce. I continue to believe strongly in this movement of the Spirit-- but I also know that many churches do not subscribe to this manner of praying.
Last week I was having a lot of trouble keeping my spirits up, as I had not had a lot of handyman work this winter. But a good close male friend of mine called me and said he was going to pray that I receive some work very close to home.
Now you must understand that I now live in the country as this place I bought was relatively cheap but far from the cities where work is more prevalent. It is also costly to come and go anywhere with the high price of gas and the distance. And there is virtually no work at all where I live.
But low and behold I called about an ad in a local paper just last week. Someone needed a handyman type of person for framing and drywalling and cabinetmaking etc. Well-- the money is not as great as what I make through my business---when I get work ( usually in the summer) but it will suffice for now. But the more amazing thing is that it is just 5 kilometers from my home. This in itself is just short of a miracle! I am so amazed!
So this evening I have been giving thanks to the Lord for this wonderful act of mercy. When I was at church on Sunday the minister touched my heart when he spoke of this black lady from Ethiopia who is teaching here in Edmonton and raising on her own some ten thousand dollars annually to send back to her country to help with the education of young women there-- many of whom are surrounded by the aids epidemic. The minister was attempting to sell tickets to a concert that would assist this lady in her quest for alleviating the suffering of her compatriots. I was so touched that I did not ask for a ticket but stuffed an amount of money in his pocket to help lend a hand. FOr some time now the Lord has been placing the Aids crisis on my heart in a heavy way. Wouldn't it be something if everyone in North America could annually raise ten thousand dollars for the African people suffering from aids.
Halleluiah and Thank you Lord!
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Coretta Scott King 1927-2006
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Posted:Feb 7, 2006 12:24 pm
Last Updated:Mar 5, 2006 9:29 pm 2851 Views
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Today I watched in prayer and reverence at the funeral service of Coretta Scott King in Lithonia, Georgia.
When I grew up in Toronto in the 60's I could not help but be affected by the environment of my times- racial segregation. At that time there were few black people living in Toronto-- quite a contrast to today-- but I did witness the riots and shootings in the United States. I was personally in Detroit on one occasion as we drove through the streets and witnessed the destruction and burnings. I later got to meet John Howard Griffin after reading his book "Black like me"- which in turn affected my desire to go to Trinidad in the West Indies as a missionary.
I will always remember listening to a young black seminarian's record of Martin Luther King's famous "I have a dream...." speech. There in Trinidad as night after night I wondered if I would be shot at some point for being white-- I listened to that record and tears flowed down my cheeks listening to those most beautiful eloquent words of a Baptist preacher. And today I still enjoy listening to them!
So today was a great moment for me to watch on television the wonderful tributes paid to the widow of Martin Luther King-- Coretta Scott King.
Mayou Angelou-- reminded us of her conversation with Coretta Scott King-- that peace and justice should not be an either or-- but those words should belong together to every person, everywhere all the time.
She recalled that knowing Coretta as a dear friend she would pray for gay and straight people every night; she would pray for Palestinians and Jews every night-- she was a woman who embraced all aspects of peace and justice praying for all people everywhere.
It was so wonderful to see on the same platform- Jimmy Carter, George Bush Jr and Jr, Hilary and Bill Clinton celebrating the passing of this great American lady. Truly this was a most inspirational moment for me. Never before have we needed leadership in our world like that of the Kings- Martin and Coretta- whose work was always led by the Holy Spirit.
I pray that the Lord will raise up more and more people throughout our world to lead through non violent peaceful means, and to cultivate justice and peace in all that they do.
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Respecting each other's Religious/Spiritual beliefs, traditions
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Posted:Feb 4, 2006 7:41 pm
Last Updated:Feb 24, 2007 10:07 pm 2896 Views
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I have been writing my blog for a few months now, and I must say I have had the opportunity to meet some truly outstanding Christian women- and men!
In the past few days the international news has been dominated by the European newspaper's cartoons of the Islamic religion's prophet Muhammad in a terrorist light. I was quite amazed and horrified to hear of this-- and not surprised that there was such an adverse reaction to it in the Muslim world.
I was born and raised Christian. My mother who passed away some years ago always taught us to respect everyone-- no matter what their colour or creed. I have carried that part of my own tradition with me all my life. When I was sent as a missionary to Trinidad in the West Indies I took over as vice principal of a high school in my first month. Although it was a Catholic school almost half of the students were either Muslim or Hindu. There were times when I would go and pray with the students' religious leaders out of respect. The Catholic Archbishop at the time enouraged us to respect the diversity of religious traditions of the island and he himself would have ecumenical prayer services with Jews, Muslims, Hindus and other Christians.
I find today that there is not a great deal of tolerance for people who do not support our belief system. Jesus for me is very important. I hold him as my saviour and I believe in the triune God- Father, and Holy Spirit. But I look around the world today and I see one nation ready to wipe the other off the map because of religious differences and past wrongdoings of the other. I believe Jesus said something about taking a look at the beam in our own eye first. I also believe that "Who but God can judge the heart of man". And while I am not opposed to telling others about Jesus-- I believe that only God can do that converting. If I can live a life that is worthy to my own religious beliefs and repent for my wrongdoings to others-- I think I have not done too bad. But I believe that I am not here to judge others and condemn them to hell. But I do hear this kind of talk in some churches and I do come across people who are first in to cast the rock.
Our North American culture is full of good examples of how we have mistreated the Aboriginal culture-- including their religious beliefs. Attempting to strip these people of their language and cultural beliefs has done enormous harm- so much so that governments and churches are paying a high price for this today.
We need to love one another, forgive one another and help carry each other's cross. I did some work some ten years ago in a mosque in Edmonton. I was varnishing the floor actually. I chose to do the work for gratis. When the lady who invited me to do the work asked me why I would do this as a Christian- I replied that it was my own personal way of helping to atone for the terrible sinfulness of Christians during the time of the Crusades. Hopefully we have all grown up since those days. Or have we?
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