THE QUESTION

Dalai Lama on Religion

The Dalai Lama says 'All major religious traditions carry basically the same message: That is love, compassion and forgiveness.' Do you agree?

Posted by Sally Quinn and Jon Meacham on October 17, 2007 4:59 AM
FROM THE PANEL

And Who is My Neighbor?

In finding a way to protect themselves, religions wind up teaching the world how to tolerate others. What the world needs now is more religions.

Posted by Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo, on October 23, 2007 9:30 AM

Pagan Spiritual Values

Yet there are Buddhists who fail in compassion, Christians who lack charity, and yes, even Pagans who drive SUVs and don’t compost their garbage.

Posted by Starhawk, on October 23, 2007 9:30 AM

Christianity Brings Even More

I hope it is true. If it is true, it makes religious wars (past and present) all the more puzzling.

Posted by Mark S. Sisk, on October 23, 2007 8:36 AM

We Focus On Our Divisions

We will be judged by the ways we find to express God's love to our fellow human beings, and creation as a whole.

Posted by Jim Cooper, on October 23, 2007 7:44 AM

Yes and No to the Dalai Lama

The notion of their carrying “the same message” is fatuous. Worse, it’s propaganda: hold still, and whoever makes this false claim will lay on you his/her distinctive message.

Posted by Willis E. Elliott, on October 22, 2007 8:16 AM

Extremists Vs. Idealists

If love, compassion, and forgiveness unite the world’s major religions, then the leaders of these religions have failed miserably to disseminate this message to the followers.

Posted by Samuel Rodriguez, on October 22, 2007 7:27 AM

Embracing our Differences in a Pluralistic Nation

Rather than trying to ignore or blur those differences, we must respect and honor the differences, using them to build a better community and nation.

Posted by Welton Gaddy, on October 22, 2007 6:32 AM

We Preach Christ Crucified

Does what Benedict wrote about love express the message of Judaism and Islam, of Buddhists and Hindus? I don’t think so.

Posted by Thomas G. Bohlin, on October 19, 2007 4:12 PM

That's His Story. What's Yours?

The practices and beliefs of the separate religions "get interesting" in the minds and hearts of billions of people when mediated through the stories.

Posted by Martin Marty, on October 19, 2007 2:48 PM

One Love Above All Others

God demonstrated what real love looks like by dying in our place "even while we were yet sinners."

Posted by Cal Thomas, on October 19, 2007 1:24 PM

No Religion is an Island

Love has to be the common thread that unites and links all of us together.

Posted by Sulayman Nyang, on October 19, 2007 10:10 AM

All Religions Not Created Equal

A watered-down, lowest-common denominator view of religion to support the idea that one religion is about as good as the next is a mistake.

Posted by J. Brent Walker, on October 18, 2007 12:28 PM

Religions Mature into Imperfection

As other human run establishments, all religions are equally vulnerable to pollution and exploitation.

Posted by Rajan Zed, on October 18, 2007 11:27 AM

Motivation Is the Difference

Scratching below the surface, there is quite a difference, especially when it comes to what motivates these acts of charity.

Posted by Charles "Chuck" Colson, on October 18, 2007 10:31 AM

Appreciate the Differences Too

There are differences which have enormous and far reaching influence on the way the message of the major faiths is understood and lived out

Posted by James Anderson, on October 18, 2007 9:55 AM

Religion: Merciful, Merciless, Inescapably Human

If the merciful ideal of religion defined all religious traditions, the earth would not be filled with the corpses of people murdered for believing in different deities.

Posted by Susan Jacoby, on October 17, 2007 9:18 AM

Love and Hate; Compassion and Cruelty; Forgiveness and Condemnation

Violent people love violently, stupid people love stupidly, selfish people love selfishly and so forth.

Posted by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, on October 17, 2007 8:42 AM

Religion is What We Make of It

At the highest level, I do think that all religions carry the same basic message but most of us do not live at the highest level.

Posted by Irwin Kula, on October 17, 2007 7:39 AM

A Difference That Matters

Other world religions conceive God, and our relationship to God, very differently.

Posted by George Weigel, on October 17, 2007 7:26 AM

FEATURED COMMENTS

Anna Ruth: An exceedingly nice thought on the part of the Dalai Lama. A rose by any other name may very well smell as sweet. We all get along when w...

DP: As a Buddhist, I agree completely. We respect any tradition in which wisdom and compassion are paramount. We also do not believe in conver...

JoeT: and I think it's naive and dangerous to ignore that for all their teaching of love, all the major religions preach that theirs is the true r...

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