I’m coming to believe that the Interfaith movement is one of our greatest hopes for any kind of peaceful, creative, joyous future.
So this week some links, posts and other items I’ve collected on sharing our faiths and understanding.
First some general links pulling together elements of interfaith understanding:
- United Religions Initiative
- Interfaith News
- The Interfaith Network for the UK
- The World Congress of Faiths
A few posts that caught my eye:
- At the Feet of the Monk and the Sheikh from an excellent blog that’s new to me, Conscientia.
- Glorious Bhagavad Gita Sung in English, chosen mostly for the wonderful line “I wanted to taste water from all great wells”.
- Pascalsview tells us about a relatively new interfaith venture Salaam Shalom Radio, based in Bristol in the UK, promoting Muslim/Jewish dialogue.
- This post from Ponderings of a Faith Journey a few weeks ago is an example of so many initiatives around the world that should give us hope.
I’ve been hearing recently about the interesting work of Interfaith Ministers. There’s an item here from the BBC website describing the work of Jane Coulthard. She says:
We affirm that there are as many paths to the awareness of our unity with God as there are people on the planet, and thus all paths with a sincere intention and clear ethics are valid.
Now I’m a little unclear about this interfaith ministry business. It seems to attempt inclusion of all faiths in the same practice and worship. My reservation about this is that each of our faiths has its own richness of belief and way of life. Does interfaith ministry water this down? On the other hand, perhaps it is a wonderful way for people to share the best of their faiths. If anyone has experience of this, I’d be interested to hear about it. You can take a look at the Interfaith Seminary website here.
I loved the imagery in this poem from the Zen tradition. It seems to me that each faith is like a perfect dewdrop reflecting the sky. One is not more or less beautiful than another:
Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water.
The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken.
Although its light is wide and great,
The moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch wide.
The whole moon and the entire sky
Are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.
Listen to what people from the United Religions Initiative (see above) have to say:
And finally, I think I’ve quoted this in a previous post, but this excerpt from the memorial of a friend is apt:
Seek within and you will find the answer. Truth is like a many-sided diamond: every side belongs to the whole.
Have a blessed week.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
The development of good relations between the faith communities is essential for the future peace and happiness of our world. I happen to think that we’ve done particularly well in this field in the UK and I know that my own life has been greatly enriched through dialogue and the friendships with people of all the great faiths that I am blessed with.
I am privileged to serve on the executive committee of the Inter Faith Network. We recently had our AGM and national meeting in Coventry. The focus of the national meeting was a retrospect over 20 years of the Network and the prospects for the future. The number of local and regional inter-faith bodies has grown dramatically since 2000. There is increasing official recognition of the importance of faith, the faith communities and inter-faith work. However, this is increasingly contested by secularists, who oppose any kind of public role for religion.
We shouldn’t forget the multi-faith organizations that are developing at a rapid pace. These organizations are collaborative efforts by the faiths, but do not have dialogue as their main focus. I chair two such organizations, the Faith Based Regeneration Network and the Religion and Belief Consultative Group on Equality, Diversity and Human Rights. The latter includes secularists and humanists in its membership – so it’s an interesting group to chair.
I share your reservations about inter-faith ministers. The danger here is of turning inter-faith into a pseudo-religion of its own.
Barney, thanks, these comments are really interesting. As is the link to the Faith Based Regeneration Network which I’ll enjoy exploring.