 By, Dan Urban
Chicago, Illinois
Karen Armstrong, a brilliant religious scholar, said that one of the purposes of religion is to bring people together. But few things in history have caused so much divisiveness, so much hatred, and so many wars, as religion.
Speak to any combatant or politician in the heat of war, and they will say God is on their side, making it ok to inflict unspeakable violence on the other side. We are doing the Lord’s work. What? It’s been going on for thousands of years. Erect a deity and conflict is pretty much guaranteed.
I think that it has to do in part with the arrogance that grows in a person who has become a fervent Christian, Muslim, Hebrew, or any other belief system, not necessarily religious, that demands total, unthinking commitment. A former pastor of mine used the phrase, “We think we have the truth in our back pocket”. When you have the truth in your back pocket you don’t have to listen; you don’t have to think. You become God’s instrument to either convert or destroy anyone who does not accept your version of the truth.
I saw a guy on television saying that we need to determine the “right religion.” The what? A better question, it seems to me, is to ask whether religion, as it exists today, is the right way to know and worship God.
Because a given religion is frequently linked with a specific culture, those who believe differently from us may also speak, look and act differently. There is a strong tendency to “stay with your own kind.” It’s thought to be safer. I’m not so sure.
The point I’m struggling to get to, is that God is infinitely larger than all of this, and any judgment we make about another religion is dangerous. Do you really believe that God is Christian or Hebrew or Muslim or Wisconsin Synod Lutheran?
God is bigger than even our language. The moment we try to describe God with words - we make Him smaller. So how can we hope to express His Truth with just words? Well, we can’t.
So what do we do? We listen. When you meet someone who sees things differently, the first thing you can do is to find out what they drink. (My preference is coffee.) Then offer to buy them a cup, or a glass of whatever it is they drink. As you sit down together, close your mouth and listen. Ask what their beliefs of God are, and listen to how they see God, and how they respond to God. Listen very carefully because God is talking to you. It has little to do with the specifics of what your friend is sharing; it is opening your mind and heart to hear what God is saying to you, through this person. So get out there and have some good conversation and really listen; and since one of the purposes of religion is to bring people together, you’ll learn something about this other person and probably a bit about yourself too. It can’t hurt.
|
