Inspired to Serve
My friends Noah Silverman and Adam Davis recently put together an anthology titled, Hearing the Call Across Traditions, a book about how the scriptures and stories, poets and philosophers across faith traditions call us to serve others.
(Full disclosure, I wrote the forward and my organization was involved in making the project happen).
I took it on vacation recently, and fell in love with the diversity of material and the unity of purpose represented by this volume. There is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous sermon "The Drum Major Instinct", Abraham Joshua Heschel's thoughts on what it means to be human, and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf's meditation on genorisity and miserliness in Islam. There are scriptures from Buddhism and Hinduism, short stories from Flannery O'Connor and Tayeb Salih, poetry from Whitman and Rumi. There is Gandhi on service and Orwell on Gandhi.
I remember my own journey into spirituality and service, especially the meandering manner in which I came across some of the material collected here - sometimes in the musty corners of used bookstores, other times on the 'give away' pile at a youth hostel. How I wished someone had put Tagore and Lao-Tzu, Umar Faruq Abd-Allah and the Dalai Lama, in the same volume so I didn't have to travel across creation to discover the powerful combination of universal insight and particular expression that different traditions offer about service.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who has wished for this book. I hope many more have the opportunity to spend summer afternoons inspired by its content.
By
Eboo Patel
|
July 14, 2009; 12:00 PM ET
| Category:
Interfaith Issues
,
Personal Religion
,
Religion & Leadership
,
Spirituality
,
The Faith Divide
,
Theology
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Posted by: ccnl1 | July 16, 2009 11:56 PM
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"INSPIRED"; BY PROFITS & FAME, not Prophet!?
Posted by: SECULARGURU | July 15, 2009 7:43 AM
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Eboo Patel & Friends:
HOW CAN YOU & so-called "My Friends"? Capitalize & or Enrich Ye-selves off Uncle-Sam by both accepting faith-based [Free] Tax Payers Dollars [Unconstitutionaly] & simultaneously Sell Books & recieve "Donations" (Profits Launderings, bribes like) for your? org and not "THE PEOPLE"?
Since you & Co., accept Tax Free Moneys Don't Those Books [& Profits/prophets] Belong to "THE PEOPLE" like bankers with hat in hand or on knees, short of kissing Oss?
Your Friends & Org need to be Scrutinized, Investigated & put under a Microscope! THE PEOPLE have a right to know. So don't flout Us & make a mockery of Us Sir, Mams!
If your really honest; then Please Open-up Your FINANCIAL-BOOKS (not Qurans etc..) & Tell Us [post] here, How Much Money You Have Mr. Patel & Co;.?
Oh, we know; "It's none of our/my Bees wax"!
Cryin SHAiM!
PS: Eboo; Did you tell the President how you've been plagerizing our/i ideas/work/essays & railroading Us (deleting/purging our work thus stealing our work via this WAPO Blog) & then audaciously presenting them as if be wellspringed originally as Yours & Friends; w/out giving Us "EKLAHTi-ON"s (blogger) rightful credit?
Eboo; WARNING: The same people you see on the way UP are the Same people you'l see on the way DOWN!
HMmmmmmmm?
Posted by: SECULARGURU | July 15, 2009 7:41 AM
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"... call us ... to-serve-others"?
Sir at first blush it look'd interesting but before half way i [WE] realize, red flags like, that YOU & your? Org are making money, or promised x-money/Donations per book sold if they sell (with your help/influence pushing x-books/novels.
You & CO., are in Violation of the Office of the Presidents Faith Based Community [Unconstitutional] la la la biz!
Sir; You & your CO., still don't get IT;
The goal & future (beyond your Life-Time or maybe not) & Prophecy is about "SINGULARITY" of All our 2-major Religions (Abrahamics & Vedics) )into a "Ek/1-Book" & thus
Ushering-in the death of all the Evil Chumash/Bibles & death of the Evil Quran/Korans & Death of the Evil Geeta/Gitas & death of the Evil Kangyurs/Tangyurs etc..!, AND
not/never again "tolerence"? of competing for a name for gods via your (not OUR) "PLURALITY."
Who Needs Tolerence to put up with different competing gods systems as if big biz? when IT is god who tolerates US/you/friends or not tolerate us!??
THEREFORE: "SINGULARITY" of [OUR] G-D instead of [Ye] god(s) will abolish rid Planet{Earth of the "PLURALITY". So
"Competition" for a name for thee "G-D" instead of god(s) will be eliminated forever. Includes JEALOUSY for that "MY Religion" attitude instead of OUR REligion.
Hence PEACE AT LAST via Singularity of instead of Plurality of your? (someone elses) religion; Else WARS (via JEALOUSY) will continue/presist.
Eboo you wrote,
"... [I] wrote the forward and [my] organization was involved in making the project? happen..."
i'm sorry Eboo Patel & Friends, but Your Project/efferts is a failure/Doomed. Face it!
Psssst Eboo & Friends; If YE are recieving "Tax-Payers Money" Unconstitutionaly via Obamas Faith based office (a 2-Billion Dollar Budget?) which allows you to Vacation & Write Books (For Profit/Prophet?) But
but Why do-not YE & CO., return Every Penny To "THE PEOPLE" from each & every Book(s) that you & friends are selling. Is it not a Ripping-Off of the Tax Payer: Adding Insult to Injury like?????
SHAIM! SHAM! Etc...!
Posted by: SECULARGURU | July 15, 2009 7:00 AM
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The book that is missing is the one that shows that religions such as Judasism, Christianity, Islam and Mormonism rely heavily on fictional "angelic" connections. Break these connections and these religions fail historically and theologically.
Posted by: ccnl1 | July 15, 2009 12:15 AM
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Hmmmmm Sounds Kosher/Hallal/interesting like.
Posted by: SECULARGURU | July 14, 2009 8:59 PM
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Once again:
The book that is missing is the one that shows that religions such as Judasism, Christianity, Islam and Mormonism rely heavily on fictional "angelic" connections. Break these connections and these religions fail historically and theologically.